VGC Life
by Twenty12
Summary: ATTENTION READERS! I found out that the OCs I've been using so far were actually copyrighted. The original creator contacted me and informed me, so I changed the names I've been using. I only adopted the names due to familiarity, so there will not be any actual changes to the characters. To avoid confusion: Shannon-Mia, Ashley-Sarah, Shawn-Neil, Ron-Max I'm sorry for this fail!
1. Chapter 1

**CH.1**

**Hey, I've had to reupload this as, unbenounced to me, I've been using some copyrighted OCs so far. I'm reuploading the whole story with different names, and the characters had different mentalities and backstory to begin with, so that's the only thing I'm changing. **

**MAJOR fail from my part, but thankfully, the original creator was kind enough not to press on the subject.**

_God_ she hated Mondays.

Actually, to say that she hated them would be an understatement. The truth was that she felt like the proper way to start a Monday would be by mass murder in the children section of the local mall; she believed that the screams of the young, innocent kids would make a fitting soundtrack for the mood she found herself in at the start of the week.

However, this Monday in particular was even worse than the average one. Going through an exam period in her college, she was forced to spend the weekend studying for the final exam of the semester. And although she found some peace in the fact that she could finally rest, it did little to keep her from thinking of all the time she _didn't_ have for herself this past weekend. Getting together with some friends who were living nearby, eating out, a movie perhaps… and a modest amount of gaming, of course. She was not the type to spend all day studying for her classes, however she did pay more attention to them than most of her classmates or her friends did. That is why she decided to work on acing her exams.

_And it seemed like such a good idea, _she thought to herself. Whatever the case, the exams were over, and the long awaited and... well, _long_ period of slacking off could finally begin. She knew somebody else who would be equally excited and much, much more demonstrative in his excitement, that she was finally free of her obligations. And she would share in his happiness gladly, after a good, long nap she would refer to as "post-exam shut down"

The girl was of course none other than Aeris Cole, a certain cat with a certain special fur color and a certain tempestuous temperament. The color referred to was a light pink, one that covered her whole body save for her belly, chest area, neck and lower chin, who were instead a snowy white. She had ocean blue eyes that brought sapphires to mind and her hair was long enough to reach her shoulder blades, with some random hair falling on her face. She had that hairstyle for a couple of years now, and she felt it suit her just fine. Her body was slim and it's movements had the grace of an adult cat. Or at least most of the time; she was currently stomping instead of "gracefully walking" down the street. She liked the way she looked, in general, and was confident in that field. She wore a pink shirt with a purple jacket and violet jeans, all enhancing the pink atmosphere of her figure. She had almost exclusively pink and purple clothes, although she did have some Goth-like clothing in her closet, in case she ever yearned for a change in her outfit.

At the moment, Aeris was walking down the streets of TorontoCanada, heading for the apartment she shared with her childhood friend, who was also a college student, although in a different field than her own. Her murderous mood was still raging, although in more of a tired, "I just want to close my eyes and end this fucking day" kind of murderous. Still pretty dangerous; the word "tempestuous" was also an understatement. She made her way through the crowd of people that were probably going out for a cup of coffee or returning to their homes after a tiring day at work. She could relate perfectly.

She crossed the street a couple of times and finally headed for the corner past which her apartment was. Just then, she ran into a strange figure which was going on the opposite direction in full speed. She left a small exclamation on the impact, and almost immediately started cursing the figure in her mind. Before she could verbalize the cursing, though, she recognized the figure that caused her to fall down; it was a strange looking man with a dirty jacket and ripped pants, who gave off an intense smell of alcohol. He wore his trademark paper bag on his head.

"Oh _hell _no!" She shouted upon seeing him, and immediately got on her feet, fully intent on causing the man enough fear to keep him from showing up in the neighborhood ever again. For he was none other than Dr. Hobo, as her roommate would call him; and it took no genius to understand that he wasn't a PhD holder. Dr. Hobo had tricked her friend into many stupid situations, taking advantage of his naïveté. Perhaps the world "tricked" wasn't appropriate though, as it seemed like the homeless man fully believed everything he had said over the years; his own mental state was questionable. Aeris had come to believe that her roommate had become aware of Hobo's insanity, but that didn't stop the dumbass from hanging out with him every once in a while. He claimed that he "appreciated his vast imagination", and she would probably be willing to cope with that, as long as he no longer took the man's words seriously enough to, let's say, buy a box of rocks for a good amount of money. Her's, no less. He was young back then, but that incident was purely caused by lack of thought. Sounds like quite the guy, right? Well, we'll meet him soon enough.

"Hey, pink kitty!", said Dr. Hobo with a cheerful tone as he rose on his feet. "Wanna come with me to that spaceship I found? Your friend said he couldn't come because you wouldn't let him, but that won't be a problem if you tag along! It's dangerous to go alone…" he added in a whisper, eyes widened with awe. Aeris wasn't sure if her friend had done the smart thing and kept his distance from Hobo or if he really figured he'd get in trouble with her if he didn't, but she decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. "No, I don't think I'm coming. Rather, I think _you're _leaving... What do you say?" she said in a threatening tone.

"BY ZOD! You're one of _them,_ ain't cha?" came the reply from the man, a terrified look on his face. She took in a sigh, realizing her fatigue wouldn't allow her to deal with him at the moment. She was about to try scaring him away again, but then an unexpected help showed up in the form of another friend of hers.

"Quickly, Hobo!" said the newcomer with a tone of urgency, " The spaceship is taking off! If you hurry, you might catch them". The homeless man's eyes shot wide open and he ran off shouting "Wait for me, high lords!" Aeris watched him run with a blank expression on her face. "I thought he was afraid of them…?"

"Sure, try to make sense out of him. That ought to go well for ya" said her friend with a merry tone. "Thanks, Scott. I really needed help with this one" she told him, a worn out smile on her face. "What are you doing here? Paying flea-brain a visit?" "Well, I was aiming for the both of you, actually. It's a good thing I found you first, because Krug is getting busy right now and I don't have much time in my hands. Tell Leo that I have the script for the next comic ready and I need you two on the set this Wednesday. And please don't call me Scott…" "Fine, sorry, mighty Pantsman" she said in a sarcastic tone. "Anyhow, it's a good thing you finally got the script done, it's been months. What's it about this time?" " Not now, I really got to go. We'll talk, ok?" "'Kay. Thanks again!"

Scott Ransoomair, or Pantsman as he liked to be called when he had his superhero costume on, waved at her and ran off in the direction Dr. Hobo had run to. He was the writer of an internet comic that had herself and Leo, her friend we mentioned above, as the main characters. Pantsman seemed to have an overabundance of funds at his disposal, as he paid them for their work in the comic whether there was a weekly filming or not. That income is what allowed for their somewhat comfortable lifestyle, along with the other occasional jobs she and Leo would find from time to time to help pay the rent, and it had led to a close friendship between the three of them. Not that Aeris wasn't annoyed by Pantsman committing to pulling pranks on the actual superheroes of the world on a regular basis, and Leo helping him pull them, also on a regular basis. They both claimed it to be a game played between superheroes, although again, Leo was most likely in it for being able to say that he once filled the batcave with toilet paper; even if it meant serving Pantsman as his sidekick.

She left out a small chuckle as she went up the stairs to her apartment door. In the end of the day, Leo was the one who always got out of situations such as being chased around by batman with underwear over his head in one piece and with a satisfied smile on his face. His complete lack of shame, which was dominant over him whenever a pretty cat of the female variety or a fail in the gaming department weren't involved, helped him enjoy the most out of each and every situation. Especially during their teenage years, just before his interest in the opposite sex grew, he would exhibit his insanity on a daily basis, and Aeris would discipline him in anger and embarassment. Aeris put the key in the keyhole and opened the door, lusting for the blessing of her bed... and perhaps a sandwich. Surely Leo wouldn't mind making her one if he saw how tired she was.

And there he was, in all his glory: Leo Leonardo the Third. He was sitting on the couch Indian style, headphones on, playing some classic fps with some other players he found online. Fps games where his forte, so whenever he played one he would always find some unconventional way of going about it to keep the excitement up; even if it meant a loss for his team. That didn't seem to be the case this time though, as the wide smile on his face implied; or he simply didn't care enough. That tended to happen. He was speaking with his teammates in an enthusiastic manner and mashing buttons on the controller of his Xbox. Apparently, this time he was only operating airplanes and was trying to kill his enemies by slicing them up with the wings. He was having a hell of a time.

Leo's appearance was actually rather common for a male cat. His fur pattern was similar to Aeris', with gray dominating over his whole body save for his stomach, chest, neck and lower half of the face, which were white. He was a bit taller than his pink friend, just a few inches, which made him normal in terms of height for a male his age. His eyes were an emerald-like green and were probably the most expressive pair of eyes Aeris had ever seen. Disappointment, excitement and joy were always crystal clear on them, which made him easily acceptable by new acquaintances. Granted, most would run away once they got to know him a little better, but those who did bear with his insanity eventually came to love it. His clothing choices were also standard and simple, blue being his main theme. At the moment, to Aeris' surprise, he was not in his pajamas as she would expect of him after the nigh he had had, but instead he was wearing a blue hoodie and a lighter blue pair of pants, and no socks. The previous night he had gone out with Krug, another friend of theirs, to leave Aeris with some peace to study for her exam, and he didn't return until after 4 p.m. It made sense to her that he would be asleep until noon and then occupy himself with some gaming, since his vacations had already started since Friday; him wearing his regular clothes proved otherwise, though. His looks were completed by his trademark blue bell that hung from his neck. Most cats would avoid such accessories after their 6th year of age, but Leo thought it fit him well. It was another thing that set him apart from what you'd call "common".

Aeris walked in the apartment and took her shoes off, then her socks and finally her jacket, trying to get comfortable. Then she took a cold Pepsi from the kitchen and after taking a sip, she moved towards Leo to make her presence known.

Leo, in the meantime, was speaking with Jet, as was his online nickname, a skilled player he had found online, who was trying his hardest to pretend to be mad at his teammate. "Goddamit man, get the hell off the fucking plane! They're pounding us!"

"Dare they do so?!" Leo exclamated, making a deep and formal voice. "Fear not, sir Jet, they shall be sweeped like the trash that they are! Behold my sexiness." And after that little speech he proceeded to knock two snipers off their tower with an accurate wing strike. "Holly shit, he did it" came the obvious statement from another teammate, him not trying to hide his amusement in the least. "You may refer to me as The Sweeper, commoner" Leo replied with a smug on his face. "Whatever, mr Sweepster," said Jet, "This might have given a chance for a breakthrough. Spread across the airport." "…ugh…" "…What is it, Leo?" " It's Sweeper. It's even a thing, you know…" "Not a native speaker, get off my back" "Okay okay… oh, Aeris!"

He had just noticed his roommate after she sat next to him. "Heya, Sweeper", she said to him with a tired smile. "Thank you! Proper English, finally…" "Shut up!" came the sound from his headphones.

Leo laughed and wished them good luck with all the good intend of a shameless leaver before leaving the game and closing the Xbox; he didn't take his headphones off though. His team's reaction was priceless. They would forgive him by summer break, he was sure. Aeris made a theatrical face of disappointment. "A leaver too, Leo? Is there no low you won't reach?" she teased him. "You're the reason I did it in the first place, so you should at least cut me some slack, no? Heh, anyhow… give me the good news?"

"Pass, surely. And a good grade, I assume. Remember what that is, don't you?" It was a tease with a backstory; she had always been a top notch student since their school years, her mother being a teacher, and rather strict with her regarding her studies. Leo was… a different case. "Heheheh, you're the devil!" he said in exaggerated happiness without losing his wide smile. "Heh, sorry. Not in the best mood right now, you see" "…Still waiting for the good news." She made a face of question; his eyes were sparkling with enthusiasm ever since he noticed her presence. "Exams are over now! For both of us! What else _would_ it be, Aeris?" She rolled her eyes, but not without giving him a smile. _Quite demonstrative indeed._

"Listen Leo, about that mass effect marathon, I don't think I'm up for it today…" "Well, me neither. Duh. We got other plans now", he said without concerning himself with the puzzled look his friend gave him. "Oh? Such as?" "Mia called today. She's bringing together the whole gang from high school at her workplace, at nine. Max is back in town for a few days, so it's a good idea, right?" He smiled as he got up and headed for the kitchen. "What, today?" Aeris asked, worry in her voice. "Yeah, why?" came his response. "Leo, I'm SO not in the mood for get-togethers now… I just wanna turn in early today." "Oh, come on! Everyone will be there, you can't be the only one missing! Where's that crazy party animal I knew?" "Party animal, huh?" she said with one eyebrow lifted. "Hm, I see your point. Still, it's not like you can't rest later!" he was now standing in front of her, blocking her view from the TV screen before she could start a game as she planned to. "C'mon Aeris…"

"Forget it Leo. I'm sure everyone will understand. Now _move."_ He obliged, but instead sat next to her and brought his mouth close to her ear. "Aeris…" he said in a weird voice. "What?" her bad mood, which she had forgotten through dealing with Hobo and chatting with Leo, was slowly resurfacing. "Aeris…" "_What_?" _"…Aeriiiiish_…" "WHAT?!" "Pwease?" she had finally turned to face him, only to see a perfectly formed kitty face and a pair of mischievous looking eyes facing her.

She preserved her annoyed look for about two more seconds before giggling it away.

"Fuck you. No, not again… Leo, I'm serious!" "So am I! I know that look Aeris, the second you step out of the door your mood will pick up. You know it, I know it, so why would you have me do the kitty face to convince you?" "Because I don't feel like going out tonight! And you _didn't_ convince me. _Period._" He gave her a vacant look, as if disappointed in her. "Period? Really, Aeris? Do you _not_ know me?"

She cursed herself, realizing he was right. Still, he didn't actually make the joke, so she could give him that. He wasn't done with her though; he frowned a little bit and used a voice he thought would fit a villain playing his trump card. "Well, you leave me no choice, I'm afraid…" "What's that supposed to mean?" she asked wearily. "You see, if you don't go, I just might decide to stay aswell…" "What? Leo, I don't…" "And if I do happen to stay here with you… would you say the night would be…relaxing?" He tried to make his smile a little sadistic, but it didn't quite work on his face. "I think you'd know better than to get on my bad side on a day like this, Leo" she responded in kind, a much more successful smile on her face. Leo took a look of deep thought and rubbed his chin. "Hm, I did not expect that… yes, indeed, that tactic _has_ stopped me numerous times in the past, right? _Oh, wait_…"

Aeris' smile died off as she admitted defeat. The corners of her mouth still slightly alift in the shadow of a smile, she averted her eyes from her friend. "You can be a real pain in the ass, you know that?" "Quite well, thank you" He looked as satisfied as they get. "So, I take it you're coming?" "I am, flea-brain… but you're making breakfast tomorrow. And you better have it ready before I'm awake, got it?" she added aggressively, seeing his cocky expression. "Yesh, mistress." He responded while faking a hunchback.

She finally let out a laugh and started her game while he went in the bathroom to take a shower. They still had three hours before nine, so she figured she'd calm her nerves a little bit before going out. She was a fool to think she could keep her foul mood with Leo in the house, especially around those days. He too took some time to study for his exams the past month, and with a little help from Krug, who was an expert in electronics, he got passing grades with relative ease. He was in the programming department of his college, following his dream of working as a game designer. The topic of his lessons appealed to him, so he occasionally took some time to attend the classes so as not to be left completely out, and that allowed him to at least pass his most important subjects. Still, he didn't like studying one bit, so he had been in a ridiculously good mood since Friday, when he had given his last exam. And when Leo was in a good mood, you just had to be in one too.

She bursted out laughing when she heard him singing an opera-like tone from the shower, forcing her to pause her game. Leo came out of the bathroom with a tower wrapped around his waist. "No appreciation for talent around here…" he said with a diva expression as he made his way to his room. "You should try Skrillex too, you might have better luck!" she shouted at him through her laughs. "Meanie!"

He came out a few minutes later, with an outfit identical to the one he had on before, only cleaner. "Wanna switch to multiplayer?" "After this fight. So, when you say "the gang"?" "Well there's Max, Neil, Sarah and Mia. And of course, the stars of the show!" "Good. I think it's good to stay in touch with the more normal friends we have." "Normal is a way to put it, I guess…" he replied with skepticism"Well they're not demons or superheroes, are they? Seriously, name a single friend of ours outside college that's normal." Leo paused for a moment, then gave her a weary smile. "Well… there's Trenaldo…" "Aeris one, Leo zero" she concluded as she threw her back on the couch, resting her case. "At least you didn't name Hobo… Yes, I saw him on my way here." She added seeing the look he gave her. "Would you mind not letting him in the house, at least?" "Don't get mad over the small stuff, Aeris", he answered. "He just came here because he thought I'd be interested to see the spaceship. And honestly, I would have gone with him had Mia not called." "Seriously, Leo?" she looked at him with disbelief. "I'm not saying it'd really be one… but who knows what gave him the impression? Sounds interesting!" "Sounds lame… He probably saw a plane or something." "Life's just so exciting from your point of view…" "Shut up!"

A regular chit-chat between the two of them. Leo enjoyed hammering her with his ideas and views on many things and absolutely loved arguing with her about them; it would either aggravate her or amuse her, and he liked doing both. At some point Aeris mentioned her meeting with Pantsman, which, as usual, got Leo excited. He seemed to enjoy the shootings, even the ones when he wasn't part of the scene. Aeris did so too, and she usually went off script in an attempt to improvise; Pantsman kept some of the changes she would make, which made her feel rather proud of herself. "Did he mention what we'd be shooting?" "No, he was busy, he said Krug was up to no good again." "Ooooh…" The exclamation from Leo's part was very suspicious. Aeris threw both her ears to one side and looked at him in question. "Do you know something about that, flea-brain?" "Just that it involves a rather complex machine, if it's what I think it is. Krug showed me yesterday." "Where were you two anyways?" "Just hanging out at his place. He showed me some pictures from his home." "His home? You mean…" "Yeap. You know, we're no saints… we might need to take advantage of our friendship with him at some point…" "Hahah! What, did he promise you special care in the afterlife?" "I'm just keeping my options open… Provided I get to keep my soul, of course." She focused her eyes back on the screen.

After a short pause, she spoke again. "Are you worried you might go to Hell, Leo?" "Actually, I'm worried I might not go!" "She threw her ears at the side of her head again. "Huh?" "Well, Aeris, we've been together for a long time... I'd feel bad leaving you alone down there" Before he had completed the sentence, his right ear got hit by a well-aimed smack that caused it to fold outwards and Leo to lose the goofy smile he had put on. Aeris had found this way of physical assault to be very efficient, as Leo hated that feel but it didn't hurt him, while she thought he looked very funny with his ear like that. It became even funnier by his attempts to unfold it without the use of his hands. "Was that really necessary?" He asked in a hurt tone he had perfected over the years. "It would be much worse, but… that was pretty witty. Good job!" "Oh, thanks!" "You're welcome." she responded as she got off the couch and closed the console and the tv. "Come on, it's time to get going." Leo had a look of deep thought and surprise on his face as he walked to get the keys to the apartment. "Did you just… get me to thank you for smacking me?" "Kinda, yeah", she replied with a smirk. "… I gotta step up my game" She laughed as she followed him out in the corridor and closed the door behind her.

**. . .**

Three felines were sitting in a booth in a bar not far from Leo and Aeris' apartment; two females on one side of it and a male on the other. The one female was a beautiful raccoon with a long tail and yellow eyes and the other one was a short cat with an ashen fur, much like Leo's, only a shade darker, and dark blue eyes. The male was a tall cat with similar fur color as the one the short cat had, them being siblings, and black stripes spreading over his body in a tiger-like fashion. The raccoon was Mia, who was working at the bar they were in at the moment, and had just ended her shift. The cat sitting next to her was Sarah and the male was her twin brother, Neil. The siblings had been catching up with Mia for the last few minutes while they waited for their friends to arrive.

"GUESS WHO'S BACK, BABY!" came a shout that drew the eyes of everyone in the bar. Mia would have probably scolded her friend, who she saw coming towards their booth at high speed, had she not been so happy to see him at last. He was a blond cat with very light blue eyes that went by the name of Max. He had been studying overseas for the past 3 years and was back in Canada to visit his parents; that was what gave them the opportunity to get back together. The group exchanged hugs and high fives with him and proceeded to ask him various questions about the country he was now living in. He sat next to Neil and was about to start talking, when he noticed that the group was still incomplete, even though he made sure to be at least fifteen minutes late.

"Where are those two?" He asked his friends. "On their way, I suppose", came the response from Neil. "Aeris might be tired though, she was still having exams until today, right?" "Don't worry, Leo told me he'd convince her… one way or another" replied Mia with a smirk. "So those two really found an apartment together, then?" "Yeah. I'm curious to see how they manage to survive each other all day" said Neil. "Looks like you'll be able to ask them yourself" said Sarah as she looked outside the bar, where a pink cat was walking next to a grey one, heading for the entrance.

"I'm just saying, he's not as great an actor as most make him to be! He just gets all the good roles", Aeris said as she and Leo walked down the road towards the bar the friends were at. "And I'm telling you the roles are good _because_ of him! Who didn't love Jack Sparrow? Or that guy from The Tourist?" Leo counterargued with passion. "Meh. I've seen better. And if you weren't fanboying all over his ass, you'd admit that too!" "Whatever. We are still going to the new movie, right?" "I suppose. We'll have lots of free time on our hands now, right?" she replied, a smile on her face. "Ah, think of all the studying we could be doing in that time… instead spent on productive gaming!" he added with exaggerated fascination on his face. She chuckled as she entered the bar, followed by Leo.

His smile, already on his face from his little talk with her in the street, was widened to a shocking length once he saw his friends in the booth. The hugging and high fiving commenced again and soon the six friends were all talking at the same time and to everybody, hardly making sense out of anything said. After a few minutes, and after being forced to keep silent to order something, they resumed the talking in a more civilized manner. One that admittedly didn't fit the group quite as well.

"You look beautiful!" Aeris smiled at the compliment from Sarah and returned it in kind. "You too, both of you. How is everyone doing?" They exchanged information about their work at their respective colleges. Everyone sitting on the table was twenty one years old at the time, with Max soon to turn twenty two. The three girls shared some complains about their workload, especially Mia who found it hard to keep up with both her shifts at the bar and her studies. Sarah on the other had, who was studying arts, was less overwhelmed by the amount of work. Aeris was in web design, Neil was in psychology, Max was in engineering and Mia was in fashion design.

Aeris had figured out their work was a good conversation starter and her female friends seemed to agree. Leo, however, was already talking to Max and Neil, who sat in the booth across his and the girls', in a familiar manner as if they were hanging out just yesterday, even though he hadn't seen them in almost two years now, since they all last got together; the two males were living far from Toronto. He had somehow managed, in the few lines they had exchanged, to make Max and Neil laugh loudly, probably with some sort of practical humor that the two of them loved so much. "So, what is everyone up to?" asked Neil after a few seconds. "I think we all know what he's really asking… right chief?" said Mia with smirk. "What do you mean?" "Come on, who're you with? We _can't wait_ to hear!" came the tease from Leo. "It just wouldn't feel right without the love-talk, man, we all know that", added Aeris.

"…Well, if you insist!" said Neil after taking some time to add some drama to the conversation; he had always been the romantic of the group, and throughout high school he was the one to always have that important relationship full of worries to talk about. Leo remembered how truly sad he looked after their prom, having said his goodbyes to his school sweetheart. He was hoping to hear him having moved on.

He wasn't disappointed. Neil talked about that girl Amber with which he was with for almost a year now, and how they were doing great. Max volunteered to talk about his "relationships", but was quickly silenced by Aeris and Sarah; the relationship's importance was most likely measured by the hours he had spent in bed with her, as he was mostly physical when it came to girls. The exact opposite of Neil, in that matter.

"Don't let her get to you man! I'd like to hear your stories. Just wait for my stomach to be empty, please?" said Leo. "Oh, fuck off!" came Max's reply as the rest of the group laughed. "What, are you guys doing any better then?"

They all turned to Leo, waiting for his response. Save for a girlfriend he had for a couple of weeks in 10th grade, they didn't know about any more of his interactions with the opposite sex, and were rather curious. The Leo they remembered was incredibly bad with girls; the only real interactions he'd ever had with them was through his female friends, who he had in several ways made clear were in his "bro zone". They wondered if that innocent and inexperienced boy had matured in that field. He gave Aeris a look and saw his expression mirrored in hers; it was a subject they would prefer to avoid.

"Honestly no" he said eventually. "Ever since college started, I've had, like, two girlfriends… and the longest I've been with one of them was _maybe _three months." "Oh… um… sorry, man." Said Max sheepishly. "Don't be. It's not like I'm having trouble with girls, not at all. It's just that… well…" he looked at the girls sitting next to him. "Well… it's all great at the beginning, but then it gets kinda… forced." "Forced?" asked Sarah. "It just feels like we're not connecting, you know?" They were looking at him with indiscretion, which led him to add: "It's mostly about sex, after a point, and it feels like that's wrong" "That _is _wrong. Do you do the break ups then?" asked Neil. "One of them I did. It was pretty hard..." "Well, it just didn't work out if that's what happened. You were right to do so." "Thanks, guru Casanova" came Leo's response, in an attempt to lighten up the mood.

"Dude, it's college you're in now!", said Max with enthusiasm in his voice. "It's ok to want to keep it physical. Just hooking up with people every once in awhile is just fine. Right, Mia?" "I'm with him on this one. I haven't had anything serious either, but I've had some flares… you don't have to be too serious right now" "Oh, that's not it at all!" Leo was starting to feel more comfortable with the subject as others were joining in the conversation. "I've had a couple of those too… at Pantsman's parties; remember, Aeris?" "I sure do… I'm surprised you'd miss out on drunk Scott for _these_ girls though" she added with a teasing intent. She was glad to see him pulling a comeback from the awkwardness. "Oh, come on… I thought they were pretty nice..." "And "nice" is what sold them to you, eh?" she teased him again. "Pantsman?" asked Sarah while looking at the two. "A friend of ours." Replied Aeris. "He throws some parties every now and then, and Leo seems to be operating well at them." Leo blushed a little bit, which was the most extraordinary thing of the evening. She enjoyed making him uncomfortable just as much as he did her. "Nice one, flea-brain!" said Max with a happy face, using Aeris' nickname for Leo. "I don't see why you don't stick to those, though. Didn't they get the job done?" "Gross…" said Sarah as she stuck out her tongue. "Oh, it was nice…" replied Leo, looking a bit embarrassed and looking at the glass he was holding in his paws. "But it kinda makes you feel… I dunno, dirty..." "…NICE!" came the response form Max as he lifted his hand to get a high five. He was simultaneously yelled at by the whole group, save for Mia who instead laughed at the scene.

"What about you then?" she asked Aeris after she had stopped laughing. "What about me?" "Well, you went to those parties too, right?" "Yeah, those girls we talked about are pretty low in my mind, Mia. I'd rather not imitate them, you know?" "Okay, well, is there anyone special…?" asked Neil. Aeris noticed Leo was looking at her, and he nodded at her to speak up. _If my relationships were no big deal, then why would yours be? _, he was saying. _Guess he has a point,_ she decided, and started speaking.

She never had a boyfriend during her school years, so she was pretty excited about dating in college. She had gotten a boyfriend in the first few months of her first year and was pretty happy about it. They broke up after Christmas of that same year, though, as he was becoming a leech. The kind that wanted to sweet talk every second sentence and hold hands all day long. She was positive that wasn't her type, so she ended it. After that, she had had some other boyfriends, but it never seemed to work. She tried being more tolerant against the males she dated, looking away at the small things she didn't like; nobody was perfect, after all, and she should know that well. However, as time passed, she would always find some rather big issues with them, and eventually either she or her partner would end it. She was now single after having broken up with her fourth boyfriend not three months ago, shortly after Leo broke up with his last girlfriend. They were both single now, and they had a silent agreement not to let other people know how much they sucked at relationships; it bothered Leo more than he let it show. The same went for her, but it was at least comforting to know she could always talk about it with him, the less judgmental person she knew, and she believed she also helped Leo through talking and giving him advice when he asked her for it.

It turned out she and Leo were worried about nothing. Their friends didn't tease them or made them feel bad about it; rather, Sarah shared some of her own failed romance stories that made them feel better about themselves. And Neil's reaction to them was exactly the kind of thing the group needed to get back to the lighter mood they had in the beginning; he hadn't known anything about his sister's relationships, and hearing about them gave him a priceless look.

"Okay, enough about that" said Mia, "We have lots of things to talk about, but I'm more interested in hearing stories about you guys. I got my share too… sounds fun enough?" "Heh, I got some good ones!" said Max with a sly smirk. Leo's lips smiled and he met Aeris' eyes, which he looked at with meaning. Aeris kept a straight face and took a long, audible sip from her drink. She put the glass down while exhaling in a dramatic way and, face still serious but with eyes glimmering with amusement, she looked back at Leo, who was now smiling with his full set of teeth. "What do you say Leo… stories?" He narrowed his eyes, as if in deep thought, and rested his head on his paw. "Let's see…"

**. . .**

The group had been sitting in the booth for nearly three hours. They had spent that time talking about whatever each though was notable in their lives; and for them it mostly meant humorous. They were pretty close in their high school ears and that made it easier for them to open up. While everyone was enjoying both sharing and hearing all the crazy stuff that everyone had to say, it was mostly Leo and Aeris that preserved the conversation. Every little crazy adventure they'd been through in the last three years, every little thing that happened in the shootings for the comic or the stuff they went through living in the same apartment with each other… everything they had to say led to a small explosion of laughter and comments by their friends. This was made more intense by Leo's way of narrating. He was talking and switching between expressions in an energetic manner, and he used his whole body to play out the situations he was explaining. He had been thinking about the friends he hadn't seen in almost two years, save for Mia whom he and Aeris got to see in regular basis, and spending time with them had him in even higher spirits than usual; this mood helped draw out that laughter. As for Aeris, she was surprised to find out that all the stuff that made her furious in the past now seemed hilarious as she talked about them. Plus, the people gathered at the booth were all accustomed to Leo's stupidity, and they could relate to his and Aeris' stories with ease; they had experienced Leo, embarassed, annoyed and amused by him many times in the past. She also felt some pride in the fact that her's and Leo's stories seemed to take the lead in the conversation. Still, she listened eagerly when the rest of the group was speaking, enjoying the reunion Mia had organized.

"…and she walked up to me JUST as I was asking him if his stuff had pump action! She just went "Walking away. REALLY FAST!" and it took half an hour to catch up to her and explain! You should have seen the _look_ she gave me…!" "You can't imagine the scene!" Aeris added amidst her laughs. "It was Leo stunned with awe at a random stranger's _junk_!" She cracked up, following Max's chocking with his own saliva. Their booth was collecting annoyed looks by everyone in the bar and the owner was giving them a look that spelled trouble. "Oh man… _God _you need to film those things guys…" Neil was struggling to catch his breath while Sarah was giggling uncontrollably. Leo had teared up but had stopped laughing, instead enjoying his friends' reactions with a cocky, satisfied smile. Aeris, just like Sarah, was giggling in the aftermath of her laughter.

"Guys, I'm starting to worry about keeping my job here…" said Mia, although without actual worry in her voice. "Ahhh… Hahah, hm" Sarah pulled herself together. "So, what do you guys feel like doing? It's still way to early." "Of course! We should go to this club some friends recommended, it shouldn't be too far from here…" "No way Max, I don't think clubbing is good for a reunion" "I'm with Neil in that one. Perhaps a movie then? There are still some cinemas playing", Aeris recommended. "What do you guys feel like watching?" asked Sarah. Before they could answer Leo spoke up, his ears so high that their ends were connecting. "I know! Why don't we all come to our apartment? We can get some beers on the way, and Aeris has downloaded tons of movies. We got a huuuuge screen too, gaming necessity… What do you say?" he concluded his suggestion, awaiting their reaction.

"I don't know, Leo… I haven't downloaded anything new since Taken 2… or the Hobbit? It's not really our style though…" Aeris said with skepticism as the group walked out in the snowy road. "Woah! Hold your horses!" shouted Max with surprise. "They made a Tekken 2?! I loved the first movie, so underrated!" The group lay in silence for some brief seconds, comprehending what he had just said. Then Neil folded in two while Leo hugged Max with a serious face, telling him "how he missed those gems". "_Taken, _Max. Liam Neelson?" corrected Sarah, hardly keeping a straight face as Mia and Aeris laughed audibly. "Ohhhhh…. Oh, _quit it_, Leo, like it's any worse than half the shit you've said over the years!" "I'll cut you all the slack you cut me, buddy!", he replied with a smile. "So, Taken it is?" The others agreed, save for Neil who was still trying to control his laughs; that earned him an attempted "wet Willy" from Max. Aeris separated the two and they all started walking to the apartment while chatting in a carefree manner.

Leo and Max went to get some six packs and carried them to the apartment. Leo felt more and more excited as they approached, a feeling he was familiar with from the times invited friends over to his house as a kid, a trend that his parents were forced to stop when a fight between him and Aeris scared his little sister. _Aaah… memories._ Ever since then he hadn't had any friends at his home, save from the times when he had the house to himself. Even then though, it was mostly Aeris and Krug that he invited over. Since he had met with the rest of the group a couple of years later, he never got to be a host to them, and now he got to complete his little wish from back then in an unexpected time. He was really happy with how the evening had turned out so far and was looking forward to the rest of it. He and Max were teasing each other as they walked in the apartment, carrying beers on their shoulders.

Aeris had started the movie, having connected her external hard drive with the tv, and their friends had gotten comfortable on the couch. She received some compliments about her and Leo's living space from Sarah, the kind of polite compliment one would expect from the formal, well behaved cat; after that though the group just got as comfortable as possible in the big, luxurious couch she had bought not a year ago, the previous one being destroyed by Leo landing on it from a rather high jump as he entered the house; which of course earned him a first class globbering from herself. Having neglected telling that story in the bar, she did so while they waited for Leo and Max to arrive. After they did, she started the movie and had Leo grab some pop corn from the kitchen.

They weren't exactly watching the movie; they were paying more attention the mirthful comments each made about several parts, as well as the jokes they threw at each other. Leo didn't like the movie as much as the first one, anyways; he would much rather enjoy his friends' presence, as well as their own happy mood. His eyes eventually met with Aeris'. She was laughing at some witty remark from Mia regarding Liam Neelson's "doability", and her laugh changed into a weary smile as she caught Leo's stare. He smiled in turn and raised an eyebrow, along with the hand in which he held the beer can, extending it towards her. She got the meaning of his gesture and the weariness of her smile disappeared. _Having a good time after all, miss Grumpy Cat? _She gave him a look of admission, as well as gratitude, as she clinked her can against his. His smile got a bit wider for a second, and then an action scene came up that demanded his attention; he didn't want to miss out on any possible joking the scene might give birth to; Neil was the only one truly trying to pay attention, and despite the cursing he had thrown at Leo so far for being so noisy, the grey cat had no intention of allowing him to do so.

Nobody else had noticed their little interaction. Aeris allowed her gaze to stay on him for a bit longer, watching him smile as the joke he was looking for shined in his mind. She remembered her crappy mood from not 6 hours ago and thought about how he helped her cheer up to the extend she had. He had convinced her to go out, a decision that was clearly correct, as it turned out, and throughout the whole time they were out she wasn't allowed to do so much as frown, both by him and by their other friends. And then he led everyone to spending the rest of the night in their apartment, with the comfort of her bed two steps away… just what she needed after the night was over, still being pretty tired and all. It was almost as if he had done so in purpose… He couldn't have, of course, but it felt like he was the one to make sure everything went perfectly for her today. She smiled to herself at that thought. Teenage Aeris would never have admitted that, but she had some very good reasons to be best friends with him.

_Naw, that idiot has his moments, doesn't he?_ She laughed at a joke she didn't really hear and jumped back to reality.

It was a happy-ringing sound, one that would give most people a flash from a happy, carefree childhood moment. That was the reason Leo had chosen it as his ringtone; the Mario theme, that is. Yet, for some reason, his gut twisted at the sound of his phone ringing. It was a worry he couldn't explain or base at all, just a simple premonition. He ignored it as he got up from the carpet in front of the couch where he was sitting and reached for his jacket, where the sound was coming from. He looked at the number that was calling him and his eyes momentarily opened wide with surprise and question. "I should take this. Be right back!" he said in a cheerful tone that felt kinda forced as he wore his jacket and made his way to the door; he was glad he had forgotten to take off his shoes. "Is it mommy?" came a tease from Neil. "Shut up!" replied Leo, more defensively than he would like. "Send miss Leonardo our regards!" shouted Aeris as he was closing the door behind him, causing some small laughs among the group. She was actually pretty curious as to who would call him at this hour, but didn't really think about it too much; surely Leo would tell them afterwards. As such, she turned her attention to the small argument between Max and Mia over whether the movie was realistic or not.

**. . .**

He just couldn't believe what he was hearing. …"What...? What do you mean...?" the voice that came from his cell phone was causing his guts to twist for real now, filling him with worry and, slowly, as he realized what he was hearing, disbelief. Pure, untainted disbelief. He started talking back, although it was mostly gibberish; he couldn't make sense in his own head, let alone his tongue. He was comforting the person on the other line, trying to calm them down so that they could explain better what the situation was. He wouldn't accept what he had just heard. He couldn't, it couldn't be real. So he was certain he had understood wrong; it wasn't a rare occurrence. Minutes passed by and he soon found himself with a blank expression on his face, comprehending the information his ears had just received. He blurted out some words of compassion before hanging up. And then… nothing.

…He couldn't go back. There was no way, not now. The warmth of his apartment and the company of his friends seemed incredibly distant now, out of synch with the rest of the world. It was cold and lonely out in the street, hardly any sounds other than the chilly wind and not much to look at other than the snow. He felt better there. Tears started swelling up in his eyes, without so much as a single sob. He felt those on their way though. _No way, it can't be._ The sobbing came slowly, easing itself out of his throat. _It… it's not possible… _He needed to walk. He took out his phone and started texting while he made his way down the street, not going anywhere at all, just walking as if lost in a foreign place. As he was texting, fear found it's way to his mind. It was deep and more intense than he had ever experienced before; it was _hauntingly real._ He stumbled in the snow, now having sent the text, and kept on walking in the darkness, lost in his own sorrowful feelings.

**. . .**

_He sure is taking his time, isn't he?_

Leo had been gone out for fifteen minutes now and it was causing Aeris, if not worry, then at least some discomfort. Leo would certainly just end the talk as soon as possible and hurry back in the apartment; he was having a great time just before he had left. Did he have some sort of obligation? She couldn't believe it; the whole point of the day was that they were both free as birds. So what was that idiot doing?

His absence didn't seem to affect the group at first, the jokes continuing in the same pace as before his leave, but in time the empty spot he had left on the carpet seemed to suck in everyone's good mood. They could almost hear his remarks every now and then, perfectly accustomed to them as they were, and it was getting saddening not to actually hear him make them; even for Neil. Max especially was stunned by the fact that Leo allowed himself to miss so many good scenes, as he himself had thought of some nice jokes he didn't mouth, simply because he felt they would be underappreciated without his grey friend around to hear them.

Aeris heard the sound she had set her mobile to whenever she got a text, a solo from a Japanese song she had heard in one of her favorite classic animes as battle music. She reached for it and saw it was from Leo; she was feeling worried now, as she got the feeling he wouldn't be coming back soon, which would certainly signal the end of the fun they were having. Still, the group would hang out, of course, but it was much more special with Leo among them. "Who's it from?" asked Mia after compressing a yawn, the first one of the night. "…Leo" "Oh! What's he saying, where is he?" the others were also surprised and were now all looking at her direction. She read the message twice to make sure she didn't misunderstand. Leo would only message her when he wanted to let her know something that wasn't worth the time to call; he didn't do well with texting, in general. This one was one of the same: he was informing her of something that didn't demand the time or energy a call would. Still, it looked eerie under the "**Flea-Brain**" contact name in her cell. It read:

**Hey, sth came up and I gtg help a friend from collg. I'll prlly be late, tell the others I'm srry.**

"Oh…" came the sound from everyone as she told them the context. "Does he… do that often?" "No, not at all… Dunno what to make out of this…" Aeris was dumbfounded; she truly thought it was his mother calling him when he got all defensive after they started teasing him. Obviously, that wasn't the case. "I… I'm sorry guys, I don't know what happened…" "Oh, don't be stupid! Why would you apologize?" said Sarah. "And I don't think Leo's to blame either. I bet he couldn't avoid whatever he had to do. Plus, he texted you instead of coming back in and letting us know, which means he had to hurry to wherever he's going" said Neil, his logic pulling everyone out of their surprise. "Yeah, I bet you're right. Well, sucks; let's just watch the movie" concluded Aeris with a small smile, and everyone took a seat and resumed watching.

The group separated at around 2:30. They had finished the movie and started playing some video games until that hour. It was fun time, although kinda quiet, and the calmness that followed Leo's leave eventually brought out everyone's tiredness. Aeris volunteered to escort her friends down the road, but to her relief they refused, seeing that she was the most tired of them all. They ended their reunion and promised to repeat it every now and then before they walked out of the apartment.

Now alone in the apartment, Aeris collapsed on the couch and let out a small sigh of satisfaction. She had had a perfectly fun night, and she was now tired in a blissful way. She focused her thoughts on the bed awaiting her for a few seconds before deciding to get up and wash herself before sleeping. Just when she was about to head for her room, she noticed the clock on the wall; it was almost 3 a.m. now. And still no word from Leo.

She felt her worry rise up again; it was ridiculous. Leo was the last person she should ever worry about, not because he was careful-it was the opposite, if anything- but because he was seemingly indestructible. He was once hit by car head on, back in high school, and he got a couple of broken bones. Well, when he got out of the hospital, not 24 hours after the incident, he was laughing about how scared his mother looked as he got in the car. Ever since then, she found it hard to worry about his well-being too much, and she appeared to be right so far. Still, she couldn't shake that grim feeling the whole situation was giving her at that time.

_Might as well call him, make sure he's okay. _She took her phone and dialed Leo's number as she lay on her bead, sleepiness taking over her. His phone rang, and it kept ringing for a long time. _He's not picking up… _Fuck, that didn't help ease her worry. That was when she decided to finally push the worry away. What would she do anyways, go out and look for him? She had no idea where that friend of his were, and besides he might have probably not heard it, or have taken his jacket off and left the phone in a pocket, or…

_Yeah, he'll be fine. Nothing I can do for it now anyways. I'll ask him about it tomorrow. _And with those thoughts, she drifted off to a wonderful, deep sleep.

**.** ** . .**

The air was chilly and the there was a weak wind that was causing the leaves on the trees of the park to move lazily in the night. There were almost no people there at all, save for some occasional by-passer, probably going home after a night out. It was a nice, quiet night, without anything out of the ordinary to break the peaceful atmosphere. There was but one sound that seemed to go against the routine of the empty park; a happy sound that was made louder by the relative quiet that surrounded the grass around the bench in the park. It was the Mario game theme, and it was coming from a cell phone that was sitting abandoned on the bench, right beside a blue-clothed figure that was ignoring it. The figure had his face buried in his arms, which he rest upon his legs. If one would get closer, he would perhaps hear, along with the song of the phone, the small, discreet, yet incredibly violent weeping that came from the figure.

Leo Leonardo the Third was crying like a little kitten.

**Okay, first chapter complete! Don't forget to review it and let me know what you thought.**


	2. Chapter 2

**CH. 2**

**Chapter 2 is up on schedule! Again, let me know what you think, and feel free to give advice, as it's much appreciated. Enjoy!**

The first sound to come from her was a soft and deep purr.

She was not sure what time it was; only that it was morning, and she was laying on her bed, freshly awake. She felt wonderfully, every inch of her body still caught up in the relaxation of her sleep, but her mind awake enough to feel it. Aeris shifted her position on the bed slowly, and another purr came from her throat as she made contact with the cooler side of the sheets. She sucked in the moment and allowed the feeling of comfort take over her for a few seconds. Then, after she woke up for good, she slowly opened her eyes.

She was now facing the wall next to her bed, and she saw the sun rays falling upon it; it was still fairly early in the morning, considering how late she went to sleep last night and how tired she was at the time. _Guess I'm not having my post-exam shut down this time, huh?_ That thought led her to reflect on what happened the night before. The success of her final exam, the night she spent with her old friends… A third purr jumped into existence, but was then cut off abruptly as she remembered the ending of her night. _Leo._

She had her ears twist around a bit, scanning the apartment for any possible sounds her roommate might make. Of course, he was probably still asleep… provided he came back last night. Oh, why was she so fucking worried?! Her worry instantly disappeared, though, as her ears caught a small, distant sound from the kitchen. She smiled while shifting sides yet again, so as to look at the door of her room. Yeap, he was back, and from the sound of it, he was probably making breakfast. Hopefully he had thought about her too.

She slowly sat up in her bed and let out a yawn while stretching her whole body as much as she could. She got up, rubbing her eyes, and opened the door of her room. She walked towards the kitchen, meaning to greet Leo.

He was indeed making something to eat, she noticed with satisfaction; she had taught him how to make chocolate pancakes the way her mom made them, and she wouldn't mind a rich breakfast to start her first day of freedom. He had his back turned to her, and she could see he was wearing the same clothes he was yesterday; perhaps he went to sleep without changing at all. _Sloppy little bastard,_ she thought to herself with amusement.

As she approached him, she got the feeling that something was off. Unlike her biased worry of the previous night, this feeling was not intense and she ignored it with ease. "Morning, flea-brain! Watcha makin? " She was in a very good mood indeed. "Oh, Aeris! Good morning. Um, you're up pretty early." He had only faced her for a second before turning to whatever it was he was making.

He didn't want to give her time to notice how frozen the smile on his face was.

"Yeah, same goes for you… Oh, sandwich?" she added without managing to hide her disappointment. "Yeah, that's for me though. I've made you a couple of toasts" he replied and nodded towards a plate with four halves of a toast in it. "Oh… okay. Thanks!" she added with a quick smile before picking up the plate and sitting down in the kitchen table.

She preserved her good mood, but noticed how Leo had said nothing halfway… witty, presumably funny, neither had he thrown a tease as he normally would. _Probably tired. Who knows when he came home last night._

_Oh right. _"Hey, Leo, what was that last night? You totally left us hanging! What happened?

She missed the fact that his shoulders stiffened up a bit, as she was taking a bite from her toast halves. "Oh, this friend of mine, John… have I talked to you about him?" "No. And don't lie to me…" "What? Why are you saying that?"

He was now looking at her, sandwich in hand, and seemed much more alarmed than he should have been by the sentence she had just mouthed. Surprisingly, that one slipped by her as well. "Who else could handle hanging out with you, Leo? Am I to believe this John guy is "normal"?" she concluded with a devilish smile on her lips.

This time he took care not to let his relief show. "Haha. Very funny." "Wasn't it?" "Hmph" she took a closer look at him. "_God_ you're moody today! What the hell happened?"

"Well", he started explaining, "this John guy thought that somebody had broken into his house, and just started calling people from his contacts before the robber could find out he was awake. He sounded paniced, so I hurried over to his place. Turns out it was nothing, just some sound he thought he heard in the night. He was drunk…" he added with a face after seeing Aeris'; it was clear she didn't believe a word of the story.

"So, what happened then?" She asked with suspicion. "Well, he was too scared to stay alone, so I tried to calm him down. Eventually, I had to give him some more drinks so he could pass out. I told ya, I'm no saint." he added with a smile. It was a story that was far from perfect; in fact, it was the furthest from believable a story can get. But Aeris had some experience with weird friends, and he had spent some time practicing it for when she would question him. He hadn't slept all night.

"Oooooookay" Aeris said eventually, deciding to drop the subject. "Anyhow, what are you up for today? Wanna go check out any new releases, or should we just skip to the fun part?" she said, nodding towards the consoles that lay below the tv. Leo felt the natural urge to agree with her plans, which were originally his plans too, after all. But things were different now. He had other plans, plans that demanded his full attention. He could hardly keep a straight face for as long as he had; he had to get going.

"Say, would you mind starting off without me? Trenaldo just called, he said he needed me to pick up some packages for him because his mom grounded him. Shouldn't be too long" He was looking all over the room as he spoke, avoiding eye contact with Aeris' eyes. "What? What packages?" she totally wasn't buying it this time. And Trenaldo up so early in the morning was suspicious enough as it was.

Trenaldo was a mutual friend of theirs, one they had met during their grade years by playing board games and RPGs, which were Trenaldo's and Aeris' favorites at the time. His skill in board games as such was great, but that was honestly the only great thing about him. He was a couple of years older than them, lived with his mom and seemed to have a rather fragile connection to reality. Needless to say, he was best friends with Hobo, and Aeris had trouble standing him after she had outgrown such games, much like she had trouble standing his best friend. She was still friends with him, of course, just not as close.

"How would I know? Probably some new cards he ordered online or something." Leo replied. "Well, the post office isn't that far away. Let's go together!" His lips pulled back a bit, and his ears twitched. He was counting on the reference of Trenaldo to stop Aeris from saying something like that.

"Nah, it's fine Aeris, don't bother!" Her ears dropped as her mouth was nearly left agape. He was clearly shooing her away! Leo had never done that before! "I'll go by myself, no need for you to get dressed. Just start the engines and I'll be back soon, ok?" He smiled as he said that and hastily made his way to the door, sandwich in hand. "Well… what game?!" she shouted at him before he could close the door behind him. "Whatever you feel like! See ya!" he yelled merrily before disappearing into the hallway.

…Now _that_ was simply _unnatural._ What the _hell _had pulled this guy's tail?! The smile he had given her as he left had fake written all over it; it was the first time he ever faked a smile, too. She was left with a small feeling of annoyance, being left out in whatever it was that really happened last night. Obviously it was something that bothered him, even _him,_ a lot. Leo wasn't the kind to be all secretive about… well anything really. He was usually an open book, and Aeris had come to depend on that. Maybe he was embarrassed about something? _That would be interesting…_ she thought with mischief, without however dropping her displease. Well whatever it was, she would get him to tell her all about it once he got back.

The hour was 11 a.m. when she sat on the couch, after washing her face and teeth. She decided to go with one of her final fantasy games, although she knew that she wouldn't be playing it for long, with Leo soon to arrive. Normally she would have picked a multiplayer game, but she was planning to have a talk with her roomate when he came back, so it wasn't really important.

After half an hour had passed and he still hadn't come back she started feeling more and more annoyed. She got up and decided to call him and give him a piece of her mind regarding whatever it was that was on his. But more importantly, she could feel that Leo was sad.

It had never really been a word that could describe that cat, but he had never acted like this before either. If he had trouble talking, then it was her job to force it out of him, make him share it. That's what best friends are for, and that's what he had done countless times for her in the past.

He could always tell when she was sad –sad, not mad, as he seemed to enjoy and aim for the latter-, and would always do everything he could think of about it until he put a smile back on her face. His method used to be aggravating her until she let her fury out on him, and thus defusing her frustration, although that method was abandoned after they had moved in together; it had become far too dangerous for his well-being.

Ever since then, he would instead tease her lightly or simply be blunt about his remarks regarding the matter that had upset her, but always on her behalf. He would state how she was too good for that boyfriend she had just broken up with or how that Asian kid probably spends all his time in front of a computer screen, and other stuff like that. And then, after he'd used his magic to chit-chat the sadness out of her mouth, he would by coincidence pick up her favorite game at the time and propose a marathon. He was good at making her feel better when she needed to, and deep down she always felt some guilt for not being able to return the favor. Well, now she thought she might just have the chance to do so.

As she picked up her phone, though, she was surprised to receive a call from a somebody else: Mia. She picked up, wondering what she would hear.

"Hello?" "Morning Aeris!" came the reply from her friend. She noticed the excitement in her voice. "Hey, what's up?" she was wondering why she was calling so soon after she had just seen her last night. Had she perhaps forgotten something in the apartment?

"Listen, I'm here with Sarah, down at the park…" "And why are you with Sarah down at the park?" she made a blank face that Mia couldn't see, but she knew could picture her making it. "Well, she kinda crashed at my place yesterday. You know she can't even handle a couple of beers" "They were three… I mean, shut up!" came a distant voice from the background. Aeris smirked at the humorous situation that was unfolding. "Well, what is it then?" "We were just wondering… you and Leo tell each other everything, right?"

The timing of the question took her by surprise. "Yeah, why?" she was annoyed by the pinch of guilt she felt as she said that, almost as if she was lying. "Okay, so you would know if he had a girlfriend, right?" "Yeah, definitely." "Does he?" "No… you're scaring me, Shan…" "Not what you think, Aeris. He is in the park right now and is all over some blondie as we speak!"

Aeris blinked. _In the park?_ _But... eh?_ Her initial surprise kept her from reacting at first. Then she remembered Leo's behavior before he left her... t_o "go to the post station"._ So... what did this mean, exactly?

There was a small pause before she spoke. "…In the park?" "Yes, right now! It's… _shameless_. They're pretty intimate, all huggy. You didn't know anything about this?" "…No, I… No…" "…Oh." Mia was just realizing what this meant for Aeris, which was that Leo had kept an affair of his a secret from her.

They _did_ share everything though; after spending 11 years seeing somebody in a daily basis, and even more so living with them after a point, you evolve this kind of relationship. In the past, whenever something of the like happened to any of them, the other was the first one to know. _Best friends…_ why would he not tell her about that girl? Was it… because she was special? But then, what about that phone call yesterday? It couldn't have been this fast, he must have known her for awhile now…

And she didn't know…

"…Well, it might be new. I'm sure he'll tell you when he gets back, Aeris" Sarah had now taken the phone, trying to make her friend feel a bit better; she had guessed how Aeris must have reacted to the news. A tough work, really, as Aeris felt, irrationally so, betrayed. "Yeah, you're probably right. Are… are you _sure_ it's him?" she asked with slight disbelief in her voice. "Positive. We're pretty far, but he's wearing the bell and all. And he's in the same clothes as yesterday." _Yeah, it's him._

Aeris was about to say something, but then she heard Sarah saying that Leo and the girl were leaving. "Still hugging too", she heard Mia add, as if wanting to make her feel even worse. Why was she feeling so bad about this in the first place, though? Obviously because Leo had played her, both yesterday and now, and he was ditching her without so much as a decent excuse; he was very late, too much so to still be running errands for Trenaldo. Just as she was thinking that she received a text message.

Her heart dropped a bit. "Say, um... was he texting just now?" she asked Sarah in an attempted carefree tone. "Yeah, he just put his cell in his pocket. What, he was texting you?" "I think so… let me see" and she opened the text. It was indeed from Leo.

**Things got messed up at the pst station, I'll be a little late.**

That was all. He would even have a problem elaborating on his excuse later… and he obviously didn't even care about it. As long as she was not in his way. _But why?_ She thought, feeling more and more confused with each passing second. _Why would he hide an affair from me? I'm his best friend, I've been so for eleven years! We never hid such stuff from each other… Unless that girl really is important...?_ She still fed bad; worse, even.

"Hey, were are you girls headed to right now?" she asked. Mia and Sarah were surprised by the sudden change of topic; _unless it wasn't really a change of topic? _"Um… you want us to follow him, Aeris?" asked Sarah in awkward disbelief. "Oh, yes! Great idea! Let's get going Sarah!" Aeris blinked once again as she heard Mia say that, and immediately after corrected her in a loud voice. "No! No, not that you idiots! Of course not!" she took some of her bitterness out as anger. "Oh… well, we were going to get some coffee before Sarah took the bus to her place. That's why we went through the park, for a shortcut." "Good, can I join you?" "Sure! We'll wait for you here, you live close by anyways." "Kay, I'll see you in ten minutes."

She hung up. She felt some embarrassment by the extent to which she was hurt by Leo's little charade, and she didn't have to try too hard to redirect her feelings into anger. She hoped he would tell her about that girl later; in the meantime, she would hang out with Mia and Sarah. She meant to talk about this issue with them, hoping they could shed some light on it. Plus, those two were among the very few people she felt she could talk about it to, as they knew how close she and Leo were and would understand what the situation felt like for her. She turned off the console and the tv and headed to her room to change into her regular clothing before heading out.

**. . .**

A couple of hours later, Leo was walking down the streets with his hands in his pockets, lost in his thoughts. He had received a text from Aeris, in which she said that Sarah and Mia had called her and that she would go out with them. She said that, if it was okay with him, they could move the gaming to the afternoon. He was slightly surprised by the whole "if it's okay with you" part, as it wasn't like her, but chose to take it as a fortunate touch in a day of misfortune. He didn't want to have to lie to Aeris any more, and he didn't believe he could. She was smart, and tricking her was no easy task. Not to mention he had to act all lively and happy in front of her, which he really didn't feel he could keep doing at the moment. He was in a pretty dark place.

The cat he had met at the park managed to draw some of the pain he felt out, but he saw it as his duty to keep most of it hidden from her. She was really upset, having received a similar phone call to the one he had the night before, and had decided to leave Canada immediately. He chose a different approach; although if he were to be honest with himself, that approache served him better, as it would take his mind off of things he'd rather not think about. Things he was thinking about right now.

The phone call came back to his mind, and however he tried, he couldn't focus on anything else; it was too sudden. He stopped at a corner of the street and pressed his hand against the wall, the other one hiding his eyes. His heart dropped down to his stomach, followed by his ears, which folded on his head as he let out a few small sobs. The indifference of the people passing by was a bliss, as it allowed some tears to come out without him having to explain. He wanted no one to ask, no one to know.

He didn't even want to know himself, he wished he had never heard it. That was the reason he kept his distance from his best friend, and that was the reason he had arranged a meeting with the girl at the park before she left. She must have been feeling as bad as he did, and he wouldn't allow that, not without comforting her as much as he could. That being said, it was better that he _did_ find out; the alternative would have been much worse. It would take a bit longer to strike him, but the hit would have been a thousand times more painful. _If you can imagine that..._

He had never felt so bad in his life. It was a different sadness from the one he usually had to face every now and then, the kind he thought he was good at dealing with_. The bad things in life can either get us all grumpy, or they can be used to highlight the good stuff! _Those were the words he lived by, and it was working for him, as it was seemingly impossible for anything to get him down. But that phone call had done it, it had done it good. There were no positive sides here, there was no consolation. And in his decision to keep the information to himself, he condemned himself in a loneliness that was unbearable. He didn't know it at the time, but he needed help to get through that one. There was no other way to go about it.

After trying long and hard, he finally pulled himself together and forced his mind on the task at hand. He started walking. He was heading for the house of his college friend, John. Yes, John was real and that was how he had come up with the story he had told Aeris. In reality, of course, John was not really a friend of his; rather an acquaintance, one that he had contacted earlier in the morning to arrange another meeting. John was in the top of his class in college, him being a computer junkie, hacker e.t.c, and Leo had heard that he and some other students were working on a project that would give them a good lead in the business they planned to take on.

That was Leo's plan, to join in the project and work his ass off, hopefully keeping his mind occupied. He would work through all his free time if that's what he had to do. He himself wasn't sure why he had decided to do that, but it simply felt like that way he would actually _do_ something; and he really needed to, as he felt desperately powerless. _Besides, if I get some praise at the college, maybe..._

Leo shook his head, causing his ears to clap on his skull. He had to focus on being let in the project. John seemed like a pretty straight up guy, although slightly awkward when with other people, so he really expected to be allowed to join in without a problem; however, he was known as an underachiever, and his sloppy behavior in their classes did pose an issue.

Things were different now, though. For the second time in his life, the first being the last year of high school, when he had committed to his studies with some help from Aeris so as to be accepted in a decent college, he was willing to work hard. It was a very rare occurrence, too, as he had always been a fairly poor student. He was hoping he could change that now.

He wiped a leftover tear before ringing the bell to John's house.

**. . .**

Aeris had expected to spend the first couple of weeks after her exam period in full surrender to her whims, simply having fun all day long. She had dreamt about the time she'd spent in front of her tv, sitting on the couch in her pajamas and gaming for hours on end, with the only interruptions being going out to eat, perhaps taking a walk as she liked to from time to time, hanging out with Pantsman and the gang… and of course, with Leo.

The very thought of his name was enough to give her a mixture of uneasiness, anger and, the one feeling she couldn't cope with in the least, an unwavering bitterness.

It had been five days since the morning when we last left her, leaving to find her two female friends, and things were not working out so good for her. She had gotten back in the apartment before Leo had, and after he came home she expected an explanation. What she got were some excuses she now knew where fake and a change of subject. She reluctantly agreed to play a little bit, despite the anger that was swelling up inside her. She was annoyed by the thought that Leo would simply go about the rest of his day as if nothing had happened, not sharing his new flare with her like she would expect him to.

Her approach changed a bit, though, when she realized this wasn't the case. His mind was clearly somewhere else, even while playing some of his favorite parts in some games, and even his jokes were reduced to his old "yo mamma" jokes, which he hadn't used since their freshman year as college students; a sign that he was not devoting as much energy as he would normally in coming up with them.

He seemed constantly preoccupied, and that only made her madder. That girl, whoever it was, must have had quite the impact on him. She tried to start a conversation, but to no avail. Leo was hardly answering. She then gave him some opportunities to mention his girlfriend, or whatever that girl was to him, but he ignored them completely.

She eventually decided to drop the subject in an attempt to make good use of her free time but, to her surprise, that wasn't possible. With Leo in that state she found it hard to enjoy herself, no matter what she was doing. Even when she was alone his behavior and his secret were on her mind, ruining her mood. It was two days after, after they were done with their obligations on Pantsman's comic, that she realized just how much she was missing Leo.

The longest they've ever been separated for in the past was four months, during a long trip he had been on with his family during summer. He had even missed the first month of school, and Aeris remembered that summer as the most boring of her childhood. It was much worse like this though, feeling his absence while being next to him. And it was made worse by her belief that he had ditched her for some random girl he met.

Pantsman had noticed the change in Leo and had asked him about it, but he just laughed it off and told him he was fine. And then he made off to go "work on his project". He had told her about the project he was working on with John, and it had made her _furious,_ even though she tried not to show it.

She was positive the hours he spent away were spent with that blond cat, and she was sure there was really no John. He had been throwing these excuses to get away from Aeris and go find his girlfriend… he was avoiding her. And he _still _hadn't told her a thing about her five days after she had found out about her. She had come to believe that Leo was afraid of Aeris cock-blocking him somehow.

The thought let her stunned. That was just _ridiculous_; she had never done anything like that! If anything, she had helped him out many times in the past, and Leo should know better than to not trust her enough to let her know about his new relationship. _And yet… there he goes…_ she thought as she watched him walk away one time, after he had just declared he had "work to do".

Aeris tried her hardest not to care after some point. It didn't work. She arranged some nights out with some other friends of hers, and while she did had fun with them, as soon as she was alone, Leo and his jerkish, as she thought it to be, behavior took over her mind. She felt sick, sick because she felt Leo had betrayed their friendship, sick because she felt left out and unwanted, and sick because she was lonely. She was like a bomb waiting to explode.

Aeris and Leo had a special kind of relationship, one much deeper than that of two average friends. Spending an incredibly large amount of time together, mostly gaming, but also occupying themselves with many other activities, as well as simply hanging around each other for no specific reason, had developed a rarely seen familiarity between the two of them. They were best friends for eleven years, all through their teenage and early adulthood, and they were even living together the last three years. As such, they were closer to each other than to anyone else, and there was no embarrassment between the two of them; that's why they felt so free and tensionless in each other's company.

It was a truth they were both aware of. _Best friends_. Those words had gravity for these two. Aeris had interpreted Leo's behavior as a violation of the term, and as it was very important to her –much more so than she dared to admit-, she was pretty just in feeling as bad about it as she did; and that is also why she didn't look into that sour feeling thoroughly. Surely, if Leo wasn't so preoccupied by his worries, he would have understood that… but then again, if that were true, he wouldn't be acting like this in first place

Aeris' match was lit on the Saturday of the same week. She, Leo, Pantsman and Krug were hanging out at an arcade and Leo, after playing a few rounds, excused himself to the bathroom. He stayed there for a good ten minutes, and then returned, a freshly made fake smile spread across his face. _What, can he not stand being around us for too long? Being away from her?_ Aeris mashed the buttons on the machine with extraordinary precision, taking down her opponents during this silent burst of rage.

Krug seemed to have noticed nothing different about his grey friend, and Pantsman had given up on finding what was going on with him. Instead, he would be easier on him than usual and make some discreet notes of how he looked down lately. Discreet enough for Leo to ignore.

After separating from their friends, Leo and Aeris where now heading home in the dark of night. The arcade they went to was pretty far from their neighborhood, as they were banned from their local one due to certain events that had transpired there in the past; it is easy for one to imagine what exactly could have happened, so there is no point in describing it.

Aeris threw in some basic conversation starters, the kind Leo would normally pick up on and somehow start a witty talk, or a serious argument that held it's own entertainment in a way. Instead, he replied with single words whenever he couldn't avoid it. After that she just lay silent for most of the way, and he did nothing to break that silence. He was just lost in his thoughts. She observed the back of his head with a frown, feeling her bitterness coming up her throat; she had to say something. Today.

If she had been more focused on his expression, she would have noticed the biggest change yet. Leo was struggling hard to keep the line of his lips vertical, to stop it from falling at the sides. During silent moments like these, he had no distraction from what was troubling him, and that showed on his face. His gaze was sad, his eyes no longer shining, except for when he was alone for a prolonged period of time, when they would water. He would normally smile at the sight of the white snow he was stepping on, but now he seemed ready to cry at the sight of it; he felt free to take on that look, since Aeris was walking behind him.

She could no longer wait. "So, Leo, we should go watch that new Johnny Depp movie, huh?" "Oh, yeah, totally" She doubted he had even heard her. That was the last _fucking_ drop. "Or maybe", she added, a malevolent stability and fake excitement in her voice, "you should go watch it with your girlfriend, what do you think?" He walked a few more steps before turning to face her. His face now had question all over it, so he wasn't afraid to do so. That question aggravated her even more though.

"My girlfriend? What do you mean, who's my girlfriend?" He asked wearily, suspecting a joke of some sort. "Oh, Leo…" her tone was menacing without her intending it... sort of. "How would I know? Who am I, after all, for you to share such _disclosed information_ with? I wouldn't _dream_ of such things!"

He stopped; they were right in front of the door to their apartment. Before he could say anything, she walked past him and headed for the door. "It's just that, you know" she added in a loud voice, hardly keeping it straight. "You seem to be having much more fun with her at your "project" than with any of us mortals. Perhaps it'd be a waste for you to watch a movie with anyone else, wouldn't it?"

She reached into her pocket to find her keys, but the force with which she did so made it hard for her. In the meantime, Leo was dumbfounded and looked at her as if she had gone crazy… _or maybe she is on her period_. As a matter of fact, she was.

"Aeris, what the hell are you talking about?" "You don't know, do you now? You _really _don't know?" she suddenly turned and looked at him straight in the face with wide eyes and saw his genuine honesty when he replied. "No! What girlfriend? Are you high?! I've been single for months now, ever since Jamie, you know that!"

Aeris' face pulled back in an angry grimace as she answered. "I know, okay? I KNOW! _You_ didn't tell me, but it so happened that _I know_!" She finally found the key and shoved it in the keyhole, opening the door and storming in the apartment. She then turned to Leo, her eyes becoming moist as she let out her compressed feelings of the past week. She started shouting at him before he could say anything.

"I know about your girlfriend, Leo! I'm not fucking stupid, you know, I don't buy all that shit about that "project" of yours! If you wanted to get rid of me so bad, you could have just said so and I wouldn't have bothered you with my presence!" Leo's expression resembled the face he made while he was writing a math test, back at school.

"Aeris, what the…" "BUT YOU KNOW SOMETHING?!" she was shouting for real now, ready to burst out crying. "I REALLY THOUGHT WE _WERE_ BEST FRIENDS! I REALLY THOUGHT WE _COULD _SAY ANYTHING TO EACH OTHER! I NEVER THOUGHT" At that point tears started flowing down her cheeks. "that I… that I'd be cast aside when some… random chick came along… not so easily, not… not like this…"

Leo was speechless, still trying to understand what his friend was so upset about. She kept on. "I thought that we were friends, Leo… no matter what, _friends_. We've been going out with other people, both you and I, but we have _never_ pushed each other away like this! _We_ were stable, no matter what happened, we would end the day together, on that very couch, controller in hand! And instead of that, this past week, the first free week we've had in months, you're off with… whoever that is, constantly ditching me, not telling me anything about her… Why would you do that?! I mean… I…"

Her anger was complex, and she had a hard time finding the right words to verbalize it. "What kind of friend just… _disappears_ like that, without saying a thing?! Weren't we… supposed to say everything to each other?!" Her voice was becoming high pitched despite her efforts to keep it down.

"But instead you… you hide an affair from me, as if I'd… what, make fun of you…? Don't you _trust_ me enough to tell me? Is that it?!" Her face betrayed her anger, but it also showed how hurt she was. She was looking at him straight in his shocked and confused eyes, tears constantly flowing out of her's. She took a deep breath, during which Leo tried to say something. She quickly spoke up, not allowing him to. "And you give me –_me-_ the cold shoulder to be with her? Does having a _secret girlfriend _mean you won't hang out with the rest of us anymore?" She paused, but immideately resumed talking, before she could think her sentence through. "You just… you _throw_ me _away_, forget all about me, as soon as the next person comes along…?"

"Leo" she concluded; she didn't feel so angry anymore; instead, she felt sad. Very, very sad. "Leo, you told me all that, remember? You can't… do the same now, you can't…" She was referring to an occurrence from their teenage years, one she considered one of the most important in her life. Her bringing it up was another sign of her frustration.

Leo finally spoke up. His state of mind had changed drastically due to Aeris' assault. His own compressed feelings felt heavier now that his best friend was so obviously in pain, and from what he could understand, because of him. He felt he had to comfort her, but he also felt too weak to do so. This past week had him wrecked. "Aeris, calm down!" He was tearing up a bit himself now; he was scared of whatever it was that had happened to her to make her act like this. "Please, explain to me what you're talking about! I don't understand you, I swear I don't! What girlfriend are…? What...?"

Aeris replied through tiny, inadubile sobs. "Sarah and Mia where on the park on Thursday, they saw you. They saw the cat you were with, how you were all over each other. And ever since then", she continued, now once again angry at him, preparing to launch another wave of her bitterness in his face. "You've been off, Leo. You're way off and you won't even talk to me about it! I don't get it, Leo…You would _always _tell me about these things, and so would I! That's…"

"Aeris." He cut her off while extending his paw towards her. She retreated a bit and tried to regain her composure, failing to hold her tears back. "What…?" "Did they describe her to you? The girl I was with" "…Just that she was blond…" she scoffed. "Jee, and I thought you didn't like them blond…" "Well," he said in a sarcastic and slightly aggravated voice, finally realizing what had happened, "you can understand why, I suppose? My _mother _and my _sister_ have blond fur, so it's natural not to see blondes that way, don't you think?"

She didn't comprehend what he had just said immediately. She went back to being mad because of that confusion, but it soon settled in her mind. She looked at him, not sure whether to believe it or not, whether she had understood correctly. Her surprise was so big that she didn't wonder why he would hide a meeting with his sister from her. Or why he would be "all over" his sister, as the girls said he was. She just stood there, taking the new information in.

There was a long pause before she spoke again. "Then… that girl they saw… she… she's your…" "My sis, Tiffa. You remember her, you met her once at my place, right? And say, do you remember her fur color? I _might_ have just mentioned it too!"

She didn't feel relief. It was just surprise, seeing her whole theory collapsing in front of her eyes. Then it was something else entirely. Something she couldn't put her finger on. Was it the embarrassment? No, that was there too alright, but it wasn't that.

She was sad again. Sad because, affair or not, Leo had not been himself this past week. And she was his best friend. She missed him, and she didn't like seeing him like that either. And not having any leads at all to what was bothering him didn't make her feel any better.

"So…" she said after a few seconds of awkward silence, "So… about that project… You were actually… working?" "Yes! Why would I lie to you about that, Aeris?" "..Why?" The question escaped her lips naturally as she looked at him, now having calmed down.

"Why? Um…" He looked reluctant to answer her, and she noticed it this time, now being focused on his expression. "Well, I just decided to pick my grades up, Aeris. I mean… we're not kids anymore… I'll be out there working soon. I needed to get real, right?" "Why now of all times? Why now, when you were looking forward to slacking off? Why... why so suddenly Leo?" she was asking him these questions without haste, simply looking to know the answer. Why was her friend acting like this?

"It… I don't know" he lifted his shoulders and walked deeper into the apartment, meaning to end the conversation. He took off his shoes while he continued. "I just had the realization… we've got it pretty good right now, but you know… we're not gonna be college students forever. It just kinda hit me. Listen" he said, now turning to her with another fake smile on his face. That one was his worse attempt so far. "I'm sorry about this past week. I didn't mean to ditch you, Aeris, I really didn't! It's just that I had some stuff to take care of, nothing that should worry you. Are we fine?"

She looked at her feet for a second before leaning her body against the wall and hugging her belly. She then looked back at him, at his false smile, a parody of the real thing. She had tears on her cheeks, but was no longer crying. "What's wrong, Leo?" the question she meant to ask from the beginning. "What happened that night, who called you? What is the matter? Tell me."

She had a soothing tone while talking to him. His smile dropped, as if he took off a mask. "Nothing's wrong Aeris! I've just had some stuff to think about. As I said, nothing that should worry you. Can we just drop it?"

She looked back at her feet. "You know, Leo", she said while looking up again; her expression was one of calm grief. "We're fine… we're good at hanging out. We are great at having fun… great at keeping each other's spirits up... At making each other mad, even… And that's good, I'm happy about that. That's how friends _should_ be." She looked him deep in the eyes while saying that, looking to make her point as clear as possible. "But friends are also there for the bad times. If we share the happy, then we should share the sad too. I've done that with you before, I always have… you _told_ me to, remember?"

She pulled herself from the wall on which she was leaning. "I just… I wish you would do the same." She gave him one last look before walking past him and entering her room. "…That's just it…"

She closed the door behind her; not with force, but instead slowly shutting it, and then went to her bed to lie down. She was feeling even worse than before confronting Leo.

Leo was frozen. He was standing in front of the couch, bound by his newly born guilt and his indecision. He had paid attention to his friend for the first time in a week and what he saw caused him to feel a great amount of guilt. _She's right. She deserves to know, doesn't she?_ He closed his eyes shut, as if in great pain; if he told her though, it'd be… _real. _ He realized, for the first time, that he _wanted _to let her know, more so than anything. But it scared him.

He picked up his gaze and aimed it at Aeris' door. _If I were to say nothing…_ Then she'd be sad. And hurt, just as he would be if the roles were reversed. He cared about her, and right now, the last thing he wanted was to have to deal with her sadness too. She did deserve to know. And he needed to tell her. His breathing had gotten a bit heavier as he made that decision; he picked his ears up in an attempt to energize his body, which he now felt numb, and walked to the door of Aeris' room.

She was laying on her pink bed, staring at the purple ceiling. Some random tears had shown up on her eyes, and she didn't bother to wipe them. She could do no more now… it was up to Leo. She couldn't think of anything that could have caused this whole situation to arise. She had felt betrayed and hurt, then she felt stupid and embarrassed, and now she just felt empty, tired and unwilling to think about the fact that she couldn't get her best friend to share his feelings with her.

She was also getting angry at that grey idiot. She couldn't excuse him for his behavior, and it was easier to blame him for it instead. Just as she had decided to do that, she heard a knock on the door of her room.

She hadn't locked it, and whenever Leo wanted to come in her room he would either barge in like it was the friggin living room, or knock, whenever he thought about the possibility that she might be naked or in her underwear, and again barged in a second later. She looked at the door, expecting it to open any second now.

It didn't; instead she heard another knock, this time a bit stronger. She wanted to be alone, but she didn't have the energy to shout at him, so she instead got up to tell him they'd talk later. She walked to the door and opened it.

What she saw stopped her from saying anything. Leo had dropped his mask for real now, and the look he had on his face looked alien sitting on top of that blue bell. His eyes looked baggy all of a sudden, his ears had dropped again, not folded, just not standing up like they usually did. He seemed… _exhausted_. He gave her a look which scared her and, before she could react at all, he started talking.

"So… get this" he begun; his voice sounded slightly hoarse. "We cats, and all felines, are carnivores, right?... It means we eat meat" he added, seeing the look of question on her face. Surprisingly, she rolled her eyes just like she would on a normal day and in a normal conversation. "I know what carnivore means, dumbass! Why are you…" "So as carnivores", he continued, interrupting her as if she hadn't spoken at all, "we are supposed to digest meat, and not plants, right? We can digest plants too, to some extent, but we can't... base our diet around them..."

His face was touching his paw, which he had laid on the threshold of her room door; he looked as if he could hardly stand. Aeris was shocked to see him like this, but she kept silent, eager as she was to learn where he was getting to.

"They've done some research… and apparently, coffee… or vegetables, are fine, they can't… they can't do any serious damage…" He took in a deep breath before continuing; breathing was difficult at the moment, painful even. "But… but if a feline… were to drink tea on… on a regular basis…" he was making short pauses to take in more painful breaths. "That would mess up… their…" he frowned slightly as he searched for the word he was looking for; he never paid attention to biology in school. "…That system that deals with the viruses…" _The immune system,_ Aeris thought with question. _But why is he…_

Her heart skipped a beat. _Tea?_

"Apparently, this is… It's terminal.." He looked completely shattered as he mouthed the words. "Now, we Leonardos… we are sturdy as fuck, you know that… but…" He closed his eyes for a second before forcing them open again; they had become moist. "But Leo Leonardo the Second had been drinking tea all his life… and now he's been… hit for good" his voice broke down a the end of the sentence and he leaned his hole body against the threshold. He looked away, towards the inside of the room while biting his lips for a second before adding "…they give him three months… four tops."

Aeris' eyes shot open. Her legs went numb as she looked at Leo, who was catching his breath yet again, now looking at his feet. Scenes from the past week played in her head, now under a whole new light, and with each passing second her heard dropped lower and lower, feeling a portion of the pain he must have felt while they played out. _So that phone call… was when he found that… that his dad… and he left then… Of course he left then. And at the park he was hugging Tiffa... Then... _

Of course. _Of course. Leo…_

He started talking again before she could do anything more than shake her head slightly, trying to suck in the information. "I'm sorry, Aeris", he said looking at her, eyes now full of tears, "I didn't mean to… I started this whole project thing… because I figured that… that if I had something to show… from…." Another deep, burning breath. "…From my work… a praise, some good marks maybe… maybe… he wouldn't feel so worried about me… us…" His eyes lost focus and drifted away from her face. "When he…"

He let out a completely silent sob. He tried to resume talking but found it impossible to. He had said enough. He had mouthed it, Aeris now knew. He needn't worry about her. And now, his dad was really, _really… dying _.

He softy banged his head against the threshold, trying to take some deep breaths; he failed to do so and was chocking in his sobs, which were coming out louder now. He moved away from the room and walked towards the couch with dizzy steps, grabbing onto things to keep him on his feet. He sat on the couch and kept on chocking on his tears, the sourness and tiredness from the week past crushing him in one big strike.

Aeris had watched him walk away from her door in that state. Her legs and mind were still completely numb and unusable at the moment. She was processing everything that had just happened. She initially felt guilt for pointing fingers at her friend while he was going through all this, but that feeling was pushed aside to a corner of her mind in an instant by a huge, gigantic wave that swept over her whole body, in the form of a single thought. _Leo._

She started noticing the world around her again. The sound of the cars outside the apartment, their lights that came into the room through the window… and Leo's agonizing sobs that came from the couch. "Leo…" she let out a whisper as she made the first, unstable step, and then the second one, this one with more determination. She exited her room and another shot of electricity run through her as she saw him sitting on the couch.

"LEO!" she shouted at the top of her lungs as she sprung towards him with full speed. He hardly had the time to turn to her direction before she made contact with him. She used both her arms to trap his head in a tight hug, pressing his forehead against her neck. She was crying, but she made no sound to make it apparent; only the tears that fell on Leo's hair were evidence of that. She hugged him tight, standing on her knees on the couch, while he was sitting normally; that gave her the necessary height advantage. She pressed her face against his hair, right between his pointy ears.

At first he didn't react. He kept his arms dropped at his sides, still chocking on his cries. And then, as she pressed his head against her body, he allowed his ears to drop while slowly hugging her back. It was then that he exploded. His ears folded back so low that they were lost in his hair, and he buried his face in Aeris' collarbone while holding onto her body with his full set of arms. Only then did he start crying for real.

His cries were loud at first, his tears soaking Aeris' neck as they flowed out, and after a few seconds he just started screaming between his sobs, letting out all the pain he had been feeling ever since that phone call six days before. Aeris was still crying herself, but still silently so. She had no thoughts in her mind other than the cat she held in her arms and how to best comfort him.

She allowed him to cry as much as he felt like, which was nearly a full hour. He would cry, scream and sob at regular intervals, and in all that time, she was hugging him tight. One of her arms had dropped to his back, not needing to keep him close as he was doing that by himself now, and her other arm was still folded around his head, allowing her paw to run through his hair in an attempt to put him at ease. She made sure he understood, finally, that he could open up completely, as he did.

After a while, Leo slowly calmed down; he was no longer screaming, just sniffling and pressing himself against his friend, tremors shaking his whole body. He had allowed his grip over her to loosen a bit. In the quiet that followed his burst he could notice the small movements Aeris made which were signaling her own, discreet weeping.

He felt terrible, but he also felt good. It was a huge relief to let it all out, to share his pain with her, both verbally and physically. That was the best he had felt the entire week.

They stayed in that position for a little longer. Then Aeris aimed her mouth towards one of Leo's folded ears and whispered in it. "Leo…? Leo, look at me." Her voice was soft and he responded to it, reluctantly separating himself from her neck. She looked him dead in his baggy eyes; their emerald color seemed different being looked at through a layer of tears yet to escape his eyes, and the white around the apples had turned almost completely red. She was truly happy, though, to see them brighter than ever before this week, with a hint of his true self in them. Exhausted, mentally drained, but relieved of a portion of his pain. Her own eyes were much like his, bringing the sea to mind now that they were as watered as they were.

"Leo," she begun, "we are flying tomorrow. If we can't tomorrow, then we'll book for Monday. I don't care how much it's gonna cost us, we're getting you to England ASAP" she underlined the last phrase. "You _have _to see your dad, okay? We'll get you there to talk to him. Tell him he shouldn't worry yourself, got it?"

He looked at her for a second before nodding in agreement; he couldn't quite speak yet. He was realizing that too just now, but he was dying with desire to see his dad as soon as possible. _Thank God she's here…_ "

"And if you so much as _think_", she continued, threat in her shaky voice, "to tell me to stay here… I will beat you senseless and carry you on the plane, you got that!?" He hesitated for a second, but then nodded once again."Good", she concluded, and hugged him again, this time normally. He hugged her back she squeezed his body against her own. Leo had by now run dry, but he still had some tears on his furry cheeks.

Aeris pondered in indecision for a few minutes, not sure whether she should say anything more, but eventually added with some sadness that was completely her own: "Leo, this is why I'm here…! This, Goddamit, these things… I'm the one you're supposed to come to… _Dammit_, Leo…" she felt more tears coming. "Why would you hide that? Why… couldn't you tell me…?" She took a quick breath before adding: "_That's_ what friends are _for_, for _fuck's_…!"

He realized he had no answer, other than acting stupid. "…Sorry." He whispered from the side of her head. "I'm sorry… I'm…" "…It's okay… Calm down…" she resumed running her paw through his hair, and she felt him relax with each passing second. "It's gonna be fine, Leo. I'm here with you, ok?"

He didn't answer her; he just dropped his head on her shoulder and slowly lost consciousness. He hadn't had any good sleep in a week and he had been working non stop whenever he could; he really was exhausted. Aeris let him lay on the couch in a somewhat comfortable position, without letting him out of her grip. She put her mouth on the top of his head, closed her eyes and repeated: "It's gonna be okay… I'm here with you."

**Tea kills, people.**

**See you next month!**


	3. Chapter 3

**CH. 3**

**Just a heads up, there's some info regarding this story and it's future installments at the end of this chapter. Be sure to check it out.**

** Enjoy!**

Aeris was fully prepared to help Leo out throughout their trip. She was expecting to have to arrange the tickets, drag him to the airport, get him on the plane and hold his hand all the way through. She was surprised.

After the night Leo had broken down in her arms, he had woken up in a completely different state. He had no objections with Aeris' decision to go to England, where his parents lived, and was smart enough not to go against her decision to accompany him. He didn't mind one bit, after all; he believed she would help him even more by doing so, actually. He had insisted, however, and rather strongly so, to pay for his friend's ticket from his own, personal savings.

They used to share a common stock, but Aeris had withdrawn from the deal, realizing it was doing more harm than good to her finances. They still had some shared savings, mostly the income from their work at the comic, but each also had their own, which was composed from the money their parents sent them and the small jobs they took from time to time. Leo ended up spending most of all his shavings on two last minute overseas tickets, but Aeris didn't object too much. She was going with him to support him as his friend, not as charity, and they both knew that.

Whatever the case, Leo keeping his composure to such extent was worrying her a bit. He wasn't his normal self, not even close, and he wasn't trying to energize his way through the situation. Instead he looked calm, didn't talk much, and did little to encourage or discourage Aeris from her attempts on comforting him in various ways.

She was pretty stressed about how to spend Sunday, since the tickets she had booked for them were for Monday. Leo, however, had some plans ready for the day.

He called all his friends, even John, and let them know what was happening, explaining that he would probably be gone for some time. Their high school friends, Krug, Pantsman, Trenaldo, he called everyone and was on the phone with each of them for a while, receiving their condolences. At some point, Aeris asked him if he really was okay, talking about it so casually. "You know, it actually helps!" He replied to her. "You were right, Aeris… This is when you need friends" She responded with a smile and a nod.

Leo's friends took him by surprise with how supportive and understanding they were; even Max, who was arguably the most immature of their group. He and Aeris where especially dumbstruck when Johnny Evilguy gave him a call after he had somehow found out by himself, trying to provide him with some comfort. Johnny was a merchant who seemed to have more interest in pulling scams rather than making a profit, although he preferred doing both. Leo's gullibility had let him to consider him his best client, and Leo never seemed to keep any hard feelings against him after each scam.

Aeris would have never imagined that he had actually developed a bizarre, twisted kind of friendship with him, one that was strong enough to get him to call and support Leo. The grey feline seemed pleasantly surprised by the call, though, and that was enough for her. Perhaps she could cut the guy some slack after all.

Leo's calmness had alarmed her, and she tried several times, with small gestures, to get him to express some sadness. She didn't manage to do so though, not to the extent she was aiming for. Leo looked like he had found some peace in his breakdown, and while she was happy about that, she also thought it to be a bit too sudden.

Leo even laughed when Pantsman showed up, offering him a "bro hug" and several bottles of vodka coolers. He claimed it was okay, thanked him for coming and ordered some pizza for the three of them. By the end of the day, he had gotten Aeris to feel safe enough to call him "flea-brain" a few times.

It was Aeris who had booked the tickets, and she was planning to do much more before they left for the airport, early in the morning. Leo, however, had gotten up before her, and had even made the two of them breakfast.

Chocolate pancakes. Just like how her mom used to make them.

She gave him a look of surprise, to which he responded with a calm smile. He didn't say anything about it, be he obviously felt obligated to do a little something for her in return. She just gave him a tight hug, not even letting him put down the pan, and then sat down to eat.

They had taken a cab to the airport, where Aeris got their tickets ready while Leo put their luggage away; they had only one valise and one sack each. They dawdled for awhile, checking out the gaming section of the duty free shops, and then boarded their plane.

After they had taken their seats next to each other, Leo being on the window side, Aeris finally decided to ask him something that was bothering her. "Leo?" "Hm?" "Why didn't you call your mom to let her know you're coming?" He kept silent for a short time, looking at the staff getting the plane ready to go throw the window.

"If she knew I'm coming, she would… _prepare_ for me.", he said eventually. "She would have time to fake a smile… to think about how to ease me up. To comfort me. I don't want that, you know?" he said, now looking at her. He gave her a faint smile before continuing. "I've… had my comforting. I want to give her her's now. I left her, my dad and my sis to deal with this thing alone for a whole week, so now I'm gonna have to make up for that." He went back to looking outside his window absent-mindedly. "It's better if she's surprised. She'll show me how tough it is for her... And I'll help her out."

Aeris' eyes had shot open with surprise as she was listening to his explanation. Then, slowly, her lips formed a smile as she grasped his train of thought. Leo was this calm and composed because he had taken it upon himself to support his family. He was probably thinking about what to do when he met his mother and sister all day long yesterday, which was why he looked so preoccupied.

She thought that was admirable, very much so, especially after seeing how much he was hurting himself. It also helped her relax, no longer having to trouble herself with his behavior. He was probably right to focus on his family, since they'd surely need each other. And if he needed any kind of help, she would make sure to be around.

Now at ease, she laid back and readied her psp for use after takeoff, shooing away the flight attendant, a tall Siamese cat, with a professional death stare before she could remind her that she couldn't turn the device on yet.

She didn't feel like playing, so she listened to some music instead. At some point in the middle of the flight she looked over at Leo to check on him. He didn't game while in any vehicle, claiming it gave him "motion gaming sickness". Instead, he would usually listen to music from his very old model mp3 player, which he seemed to have an emotional connection with, as he refused to change it. This time, though, he hadn't even taken it out.

He was still gazing outside the window, seeming to be in deep thought, and troubled. The expression seemed bizarre on his face, but she could recognize him now. He was going through a tough time, but this was clearly the Leo she knew. _Nothing like how he looked last week._

She took off her earphones and searched for a way to take some of the weight off his shoulders, as he was obviously mentally drained from his ordeal so far.

In the meantime, Leo was thinking about his mother, just like Aeris had guessed. He was playing back their conversation from a week ago, when she gave him that phone call that started this whole story. He remembered how heartbroken she sounded and cursed himself for not being more supportive throughout the past week. He had talked with her a lot over the phone, of course, and he did his best to help his sister through this when they met at the park, but that wasn't _nearly_ enough, and he knew it.

He was on his way now, but he was one week late. _Great course of action there, flea-brain..._ He thought to himself, his characteristics drawing back a bit, showing his anger towards his own stupidity. _I'm coming now, though. I'm on my way. I'll be there soon._

He tried not to let his remorse get in the way too much though, as he had his family members to focus on at the moment; kind of like what Aeris had thought back when he told her about his father. He had a plan ready for his mom, one that he believed would work. He didn't think he would need to say much, just as long as he got the message he meant to across. So he instead focused his mind on his dad.

Leo loved his dad, he loved him and he was really close to him. He used to laugh at his silly, British accents and his goofy, yet somehow extremely classy behavior back when he was a kid. In many ways, he had modeled himself after him, thinking that there was nothing more admirable than smiling and laughing one's way through life. His dad being like this had helped him deal with tough situations when he was younger, and he was aiming for something similar to that now that he had grown himself.

His dad was the bravest person he knew, being able to stay happy and keep his loved ones happy for as long as Leo could remember. And now he had trouble imagining him scared and helpless as he probably was. He frowned at a thick cloud that was passing by the window. _What do I do?_

He then felt something crawl up his left paw, the one he had resting on the arm of the seat that separated him and Aeris. He turned to see her hand touching his.

She withdrew it in awkwardness as he did, feeling very unsure about her gesture. She had grown a bit desperate to do something though, seeing his expressions and understanding how troubled he was. As for him, he was surprised by what she ended up doing, and was stunned for a second.

What he did afterwards had her stunned instead. He slowly extended his paw and grabbed her's, softly squeezing it. She returned his gesture in kind, keeping his paw in her own and gently rubbing it. She looked at him and gave him a faint smile of comfort, causing a similar smile to appear on his face as he looked at her.

His eyes really were those of the Leo she knew, and through the sadness they had in them at the moment, she could clearly see the other feelings she had brought out in them. There was gratitude and warmth, as well as complacency. He meant to let her know that he was indeed having a hard time, but what she had done, what she was doing, was more than enough for him to bear through it. She was helping him, very much so, just by being there, and he let her know he needed nothing more.

They released each other after a few seconds, not exchanging a word. Leo gave Aeris one more thankful smile before going back to looking outside the window, now rid of his guilt and calmer, focusing on planning his actions. Reassured, she put her earphones back on and went on listening to her music until the plane approached it's destination.

**. . .**

Leo carried their luggage outside while Aeris stopped a taxi. He had been to Britain many times before and was accustomed to the wet atmosphere and the feels the buildings gave off, as well as the bizarre accents of the locals. _Just like dad's…_ He put the luggage in the trunk of the taxi, nodding to the driver that they were fine, as they had taken such few things with them. He then turned to Aeris.

"Listen", he started talking. "Maybe you should go and-" He was cut off by her walking past him with decisive steps and entering the back seat of the car, leaving the door open behind her. She then gave him a look with meaning, as if daring him to finish his sentence. _What are you waiting for?_ He smiled at her in surrender and followed her into the cab, closing the door behind him.

He gave the driver the instructions to the hospital his dad was admitted in and he started driving. Leo had made sure to ask his sister, who had been to see his dad a week before him, for some information. Apparently, Leo Leonardo the Second was staying in the hospital for the time being, the doctors believing his immune system to be too weak for him to leave their care. He would be sent away, eventually, but for now he had to stay in his hospital bed. This information had gotten Leo even more stressed when he heard it, but now he was using it to prepare himself for what he would see.

They exited the cab and Aeris gave the driver his money. She noticed that Leo looked increasingly more worried as they approached, kinda like a student entering the class before a big test. Each was carrying their own sacks as they entered the building. By that time, Leo seemed lost, disoriented. Seeing him like this, Aeris was about to take it upon herself and ask for his father's room. But just then, Leo spoke up.

"Excuse me" he said to the human woman who was giving instructions to visitors. "Yes?" She replied with a polite smile. "I'm looking for my father, Leo Leonardo the Second. He should be admitted in this hospital for a little more than a week now. Gray fur, just like mine." His breathing had become a little rushed as he described his father to the woman in hurried speech, as if he was afraid he'd forget what the Second looked like.

"Oh, yes, I think I know who you're talking about. Would your mother be a blond lady cat, about this tall?" "Yes, that's her!" he replied with excitement that had nothing to do with anticipation. The woman gave them directions and they started walking down the white hallway, Aeris trying to keep up with Leo's hastened pace.

She was having second thoughts as to whether she should be there at the moment. Leo would be with his family, and she would do little other than feel awkward. She remembered the look on Leo's face, though, back when they were on the plane, and decided otherwise. It was too late now anyways. She kept on walking beside her friend as they approached the room the woman had directed them towards.

As they turned the final corner, they saw a blond figure with it's back turned towards them talking to a doctor. Leo's heart skipped a beat. Aeris thought he would weaver, but once again she was proved wrong.

They stopped, Leo looking at his mother from a distance. She was wearing shaggy clothing, the kind and old lady would, with a general theme of brown, which matched her eyes. She sounded tired, and her hair wasn't properly cared for. Leo drew a deep breath, and then spoke in a slightly higher voice than his normal one.

"Mom?" Liza Leonardo turned to the sound of his voice. She looked at him for about a second before realizing who it was that she was seeing. Her eyes shot open and her mouth was left agape. "...Leo...? Oh my God, sweetie! When did you…?" She stopped talking as she noticed her son's expression. His mouth, his stance, his eyes. The way he looked at her. She felt chills running down her spine, and her eyes watered. She wasn't prepared for this; just as Leo had wished.

He started walking up to her slowly, never taking his eyes off of her face. He let his sack drop to the ground and picked up his pace when he saw her starting to sob. "Leo…" she said, not having a full sentence in mind. She gulped as she felt her heartbeats fasten.

"_Mom…_" Upon hearing her son's voice a second time, Liza let out a rushed sob and darted into his arms, tears running down her cheeks. She wasn't crying loudly like Leo had, but rather weeping, letting out small exclamations as she buried her face in her son's chest. Leo placed his chin on top of his mother's head, just like she had done to him so many times in the past.

Upon collision, he had spun himself and his mother half a turn. He was now holding her tightly, his arms around her own, embracing her back and shoulders in a protective circle. She had been married to his father for nearly twenty seven years now, and they loved each other very much. He could only imagine how much pain the news of his upcoming passing had caused her, and he made sure to make her feel safe enough to express that pain.

At some point he opened his eyes, which he had kept shut for most of the time due to the tears that were coming up to them, and he saw Aeris who was still standing a few steps away, trying to figure out what she should do. She had decided to leave when they found Leo's parents, intending to give them some privacy, as she thought was right. However, she was reluctant to leave Leo on his own; she was also curious to see his course of action. She hated that she did, as she thought it was very indiscreet of her. Furthermore, looking at Leo's eyes, red as they were, him being a hair away from crying, part of her felt the urge to join in the hug; probably that indiscreet part. She didn't dare do so, of course.

When she caught Leo's gaze, though, she changed her mind. He was helping his mother now, just like she had helped him before; and hard as it was for him, he was pulling it off. She nodded at him slightly and averted her gaze to her feet, picking up the sack that he had dropped.

Liza relished in her son's embrace, letting a small river of tears flow out of her eyes and allowing hiim to aid her in her hurt. After some time she calmed down, having let her feelings loose through many minutes of relentless crying, and withdrew slightly, meaning to say something. But Leo started talking before she could.

"Mom", he begun, looking at his mother straight in her big, brown eyes. His voice was full of emotion, but he managed to keep it stable and firm. He had decided he could do nothing but talk to her; in the end, his presence was the only thing he could offer to her and his dad, so he could only hope for it to be enough.

"Mom… I can't do much, you know I can't. It's… _disgusting… _how little I can do… But I _will_ do what I can." He drew her face closer to his, speaking in phrases, intensifying every word. His voice was little more than a whisper, aimed only at her; she stared into his watery eyes. "I am here. I'm here with you, mom… and so is Tiffa. We're both right here, mom… And _we're not going anywhere." _ He paused for as second, before adding in an even more intense voice: "And mom… we _love _you. You need to know that… okay?"

He meant every word, from the bottom of his heart. The effect on Liza was instant; tears started flowing out of her eyes again, but she tried to keep them open, looking at her son. A small, fragile smile appeared on her mouth as she was eventually forced to close them, unable to hold back the tears that were coming out uncontrollably. She then grabbed Leo's head with unexpected force and brought it down to her neck, trapping it in a tight hug. She was a bit shortened with age and he was taller, so she ended up pulling him down. She gave his cheek an audible kiss and held him against herself for a few seconds.

She was feeling better now, much better. In a sense, at least; the fatigue she had been building up had started showing, and the bags under her eyes felt heavy all of a sudden. And Leo's warmth felt similar to that of a bed at the end of a hard day of labor. She could spend all day there, just holding him in her arms, loving him and being loved by him as she was; it was the perfect counter to the pain she was going through.

"Thank you, sweetie… I know…" she let out a sigh and looked in his eyes. "I love you too. You have no idea how much… " She could finally speak a bit, and she put her words to good use. Leo kissed her back and they were left rubbing each other's backs.

"Are you okay?" Leo asked her with concern. "Yes sweetie… heh, pulled quite the surprise on me, didn't you? You should have called…" Liza wiped the last tears off her face and sniffled. Only then did she notice that Aeris was present; she seemed a bit surprised. "Aeris, it's… it's good to see you. How are you?" She felt a little embarrassed, crying like this in front of the pink cat. Aeris hurriedly replied. "I'm just fine, miss Leonardo. And…" she paused with her mouth left agape, searching for something to ask back. Surely, she wasn't_ okay._

"You flew all the way here with Leo? That's sweet of you, honey…" Liza pulled her out of her awkwardness. "No, not at all… Leo paid for my ticket, anyways." Liza scoffed. "Well, I would hope so!" "If it weren't for Aeris, I wouldn't be here, mom." Leo added, smiling at her a bit. "In that case, I have another reason to thank you, honey."

Liza's smile was very warm as she mouthed those words. Aeris blushed slightly as she smiled back. She was never the kind of girl who would blush so easily to anything, but Liza always had that effect on people; especially now that she looked a bit older.

Leo and Liza had broken their hug, but he made sure to stay close to her. "So… is dad in there?" he asked her, nodding towards the room they were standing outside of. "…Yeah… He's asleep right now, though… I think you should wait a bit, Leo. He's not getting much sleep here, says he's bored..." She stopped speaking; it was clearly hard talking about him. Leo didn't want to push her; he was impatient, however. He wanted to talk to his dad as soon as possible. Spending time with his mom seemed good enough, though; at least for now.

"Let's go get something to eat from the cafeteria. Are you hungry, mom?" "No, thank you, sweetie. I'd like some coffee though." "Right. Aeris?" "Nah, I'm fine." "Come on, we haven't eaten since morning. And we were in another friggin continent! What do you want?"

Aeris smiled at his attempts to act lightly. They were actually kind of successful. "You know what I'd like. Pick something for me." "Okay. I'll be right back." He aimed the last sentence at his mom. She smiled and nodded at him. He left, leaving them at the couch that was positioned a few turns away from the hospital cafeteria.

"You look gorgeous, Aeris! You've grown a lot since I last saw you!" Aeris was surprised to hear that compliment. Liza always had the tendency to speak like an old lady, and it suit her very much; she gave off a feeling of wisdom and age she didn't really have, the exact opposite of her husband's youthfulness. Aeris wasn't sure whether she had blushed again or not; she was certain she'd never get used to Liza's tone.

Not that she complained. "Thank you, miss Leonardo. So do you!" "Oh, Aeris… playing with the feelings of an old lady? I expected better of you…" Liza's face was straight and she looked hurt as she said that, and Aeris fell for it right away, not expecting a tease in this kind of situation. "No, I… I'm serious! Miss-" She was interrupted by Liza's laughter. "If you're always that easy to pick on, dear, I can't imagine how you survive Leo. Thank you" she added as she smiled at her again.

Aeris couldn't help but smile back. _Well, she's Leo's mom, isn't she? Stands to reason she'd be able to troll me. _"It's not always easy… but it's not unpleasant either." "Oh, I know the feeling…" "Hahah." Aeris allowed her smile to fade away. She looked at the direction Leo had disappeared to before speaking again. "Leo is… a constant surprise, to everyone." "Isn't he?" Liza was still smiling as she pointed her gaze to the same direction Aeris was looking at. "... You… gave him a call a week ago, late at night, right?"

Aeris was now looking at Liza's face; the latter was not smiling anymore. She returned her look before replying. "…I had just found out myself… I guess… I just needed to talk to them. _Stupid. _Very, very stupid of me." She exhaled as she said that, sounding disappointed in herself, and her expression portrayed exactly that.

Aeris was taken aback, both by Liza's words and her tone, and she looked at her with question. "I don't think so, miss Leonardo" She spoke clearly, meaning to show that she believed what she was saying.

Liza's face drew back a bit, showing anger that didn't fit it right. "Honey, I'm his mother. His and Tiffa's. I'm the one who's supposed to be there for them… not the other way around! You saw what happened back there-"

"You're a family." Aeris' tone was firm as she cut the blond cat off. "And you're very important to Leo. He came here to be with you, to help you bear with… all this. That's why he didn't call, to make sure you'd... to make you would loosen up with him. He can more than reliable when it comes to important stuff, and he's proven that today. There's no reason you should feel bad about relying on him, miss Leonardo."

Liza looked surprised at first, not expecting Aeris to say all that she had. She had come out a bit more aggressive than she had meant to, but she didn't regret it; in fact, after what she had just witnessed, she felt a bit annoyed thinking that Liza didn't feel the same way.

After her initial surprise, Liza immediately gave Aeris one more kind smile. "You're right, of course. He's so much like his dad… And he's not a kitten anymore, obviously. I'm just happy to see him having grown." Aeris' lips lifted slightly around the edges, forming a hint of a playful smile. "Kind of sad though, isn't it?" "You'd think so, wouldn't you?" replied Liza with exclamation. "But thankfully… he managed to do so without really changing... Don't you think?"

Aeris thought about it for a second. The Leo she was with today was the same Leo she was hanging out with last Monday night. Exactly the same person... Exactly the same person who had helped her deal with that bully back in grade school, that Snake guy_._ She narrowed her eyes, reminiscing._ He truly hasn't changed a bit, has he_? Just like back then…

Goofy smiles, happy ringing voice, a "trendy" bell hanging around his neck. And all that while he tricked the scary looking, military themed bully into getting locked in the locker. Just like the current Leo… always a hyperactive, immature joker, but at the same time somewhat… cool, when you took the time to notice. It was hard to see most of the time, sure… But it not being obvious was another aspect of him that made it easy to be around him. For her, at least.

She smiled in admission before she spoke. "…No. He's the same… Only a bit more matured, I guess… Well, in his own way." She added with a chuckle. "Honestly, dear", said Liza, looking at the corner Leo would be appearing from soon, 'I wouldn't have it any other way."

Aeris got a strange feeling in her stomach. _Neither would I…_ "He really is very much like his father, you know" Liza continued. "They're both the silly kind, and it can be hard to take them seriously… But they're strong. Stronger than anyone who looks at them might think. It usually shows only when they have to… bear through tough situations, small or big ones. And sometimes, they're strong for other people too. I hadn't noticed that about the Third… I guess I missed him growing, a bit…"

She was now wearing a somewhat bitter smile. Aeris had noticed what she was talking about for awhile now.

After she and Leo became close to each other, she had spent most her childhood with him considering him a complete moron. And even now, it was that apparent idiocy of his that gave him his success in their work at the comic, even though there was a script. Her first hint towards the opposite came when he asked her to help him catch up with his studies, back when they were seventeen. Liza had just been fired from her work and, seeing how badly it had affected her, he had decided to review his priorities; to some extent. He followed the program Aeris had made for him for a whole year; full of complaints and annoyance, truth be told, but he did anyways. And judging by his decent scores in his entrance exams, it had paid off.

It was during their recent years, however, that Aeris had really started reconsidering her opinion of Leo. She had had many epic confrontations with the true stupidity the world had to offer at the jobs she took at shops or cafeterias, and she had zero tolerance towards it. It was just how she was, and she couldn't help it; and frankly, she didn't feel like she needed to. In any case, she had understood that the feeling she was getting from Leo was nothing like that.

She wasn't sure if it really was him that had matured or if it was her outlook that had changed, but Leo didn't seem so much _stupid _as he did… Weird. Or rather, crazy; but not in a bad way. He was… well, he was no nuclear scientist, that much was clear, but still.

Aeris' ears suddenly shot up as she thought of the perfect word to describe him with: _airhead_. Yes, that was it! _Leo is a total airhead!_

It was Leo's overly happy and outgoing personality that created that semi-false image of stupidity. However, she had come to understand that him being constantly happy was something he had worked on, and succeeded. Nothing could make his smile weaver… Until today.

As if reading her thoughts, Liza resumed talking.

"But you know, men like Leo… both Leos… they may not know it themselves, but sometimes, they also need somebody to be strong _for _them. It can be difficult, helping them… You sometimes feel... _useless_, like you're not needed, and when you _do_ feel needed, you may feel too small to help. When they cry… then things must be really hard, dear."

Aeris was completely focused on her words. This was _exactly_ how Leo had made her feel the recent days! "But all you need to do… all they might ever really need, is for you to be there. As I've just understood myself, as he just showed me… in the end, that's all that's necessary." Liza was staring off at an empty space while she was speaking, seemingly lost in her thoughts.

She then looked back to the pink feline's face; her sapphire eyes, shining from the intensity of her attention. Her slim figure leaning forward, her pointy ears sticking out, eager to hear more about her best friend. Her concern was obvious.

Liza thought back to Aeris' almost abusive behavior towards Leo during their teenage; it was easy, as it had bothered her a lot, even though Leo never seemed to care too much. She had noticed a change in the years just before Leo left for college, but him and Aeris were always an explosive combination, always fighting and arguing with each other. Yet at the same time, these two gave you the feeling they were closer than any other two friends who were openly nice to each other. She could now see that that impression was indeed true; and both Leo and Aeris were aware of that fact for a long time now.

Liza gave Aeris the warmest smile she had as she added in a soft tone: "Thank you for coming with him, Aeris. Leo is very close to his dad, and I know he's hurting more than he's letting out in front of me. But I think if anyone were to be able to comfort him… that'd be you. I'm glad you're here with him, dear. Thank you."

Aeris blinked, taken aback from the heart-pulled words she had just received. Leo arrived before she could give an answer. Liza acted naturally and started taking small sips from her plastic cup while Leo handed a tuna sandwich over to Aeris; like most cats, she loved fish. She commenced eating, not letting him see her fiery blush.

_That woman is something else,_ she thought to herself. Leo didn't notice the pink color of her cheeks at all, as he was focused on his mother. He asked her about Tiffa, and she told him that she had left just a couple of days ago. She also added that her's and Leo Leonardo the Second's house was quite far, so it'd probably be better if the he and Aeris stayed at a hotel for the night. Aeris was now positive that Liza's aim was to make her uncomfortable, saying things like that.

"Do you think he's awake now?" Leo asked at some point, not wanting to prolong his wait; he had been standing on fire since they had taken a seat on the couch. It had hardly been ten minutes.

His mom looked at him for a few seconds before answering, a worn out smile now on her face. "Come on, let's go check on him. Just let me prepare him, alright sweetie?" "Yeah, of course." He had shot up on his feet before she had finished her sentence. It reminded her of his behavior whenever he was expecting a relative to bring him some new video game, back when he was a kid. _That's a bad relevance… _ She entered the Second's room while Leo and Aeris waited outside.

Aeris was cautious with him, looking at his slightly distorted face, deep in thought as he was. "So… Have you decided on what you're gonna say?" she finally asked him wearily. He turned towards her and blinked a few times, as if surprised by the question, and then went back to looking at the vacant space in front of him, towards the door. She though she wouldn't get an answer and cursed herself for asking him, but then she heard his voice.

"You know, my dad is… he's awesome." He was still staring at the door. "Whenever something bad happened to us… When Tiffa's pet died, or when I lost my Gameboy… or back when mom was fired from her part time job, or when I was hit by that car… He was always… awesome." He paused for a second, reminiscing.

"He... He showed me how to smile. Just like he did, every damn time! You know" He turned and faced her. "I think… he smiled because of us. So that we'd smile along. So that… we'd be happy." After another short pause, he continued, his eyes again focused on the white door. "…He is the bravest man I've ever known. He deserves… only the best. And you know what?" He turned towards her again and looked her in the eyes.

She was stunned by the way his eyes glimmered. It was bizarre; he was sad, shaken, anxious, everything he was a minute before. But now he seemed… _happy_. Impossibly so… he seemed happy all of a sudden. She watched with awe as the sides of his mouth picked up slightly; he was now talking calmly, finally having found the answer to the question that was bothering him for a long while now.

"He's probably scared out of his wits right now. Even _he_ must be terrified… So it's my turn. He has earned the biggest smile I can fit on my face, and nothing less!" He smiled as he mouthed the words. "I figured it'd be difficult, but I'd manage it somehow. But now, with him waiting inside… That guy, _my dad…_" His smile was accompanied by watery eyes. "I don't think… it's gonna be all _that_ hard after all… you know?"

The last question came out with a small chuckle. Aeris couldn't believe her ears; he could actually do that? He _could, _really? She thought back to not forty eight hours ago, when that same cat had broken down in her arms, crying so violently that it physically hurt him. Of all the things Leo had done over the years, that was the one that surprised her the most.

After several seconds, she gave him a smile so warm that she could actually feel it's heat on her cheeks. She felt moved… and proud of her best friend. _That_ Leo actually made her feel proud… "Perfect plan, flea-brain." She spoke to him in an incredibly soft tone. "I think you'll be good with that…"

They both moved at the same time; she tied her hands behind his back, while he closed his arms just above her waist, and they placed their heads together, their sides touching softly. They had never hugged like this before. "Thank you, Aeris. I don't know what I would do without you…" His voice was once again a whisper as he spoke those words in her ear. She smiled again, her eyes brimming with warmth as they separated. "You'll be fine, Leo... I know you will." He smiled back at her.

They slowly moved away from each other, her taking a few steps back as he moved towards the door; his mother had just called for him. He looked at Aeris one more time, seeing the encouraging smile still on her lips, and took in a deep breath. He then opened the door and entered the white room.

His dad was laying on the hospital bed in the middle of the room. His expression was much like his mom's when he first saw her; tired and full of stress, and afraid. But he was always true to his nature, it seemed, as he put on a smile as he saw his son. He hadn't planned for it, but it came naturally. He was right there, in front of him... _And he's grown so much…_

He was a splitting image of his son; or rather the other way around. His colors and fur pattern were the same, as well as his eyes. The only notable differences where his longer whiskers and slightly shorter and hairier tail; and of course, his age. Tears, very few of them, appeared on his eyes, at the same time as they did on his son's.

He smiled at him widely. "Laddie? That you there?" An inside joke of theirs.

Leo couldn't contain himself; neither his tears nor his smile. There he was. Alive, right now. Right in front of him. He felt like he hadn't seen him in decades. A small, happy squeal, a kind of laughter, came from his smiling face as he stormed into the room. "Cap'n…!"

Aeris had heard the small exchange between the two Leos, the door not having closed yet. She smiled to herself as the happy sounds both of them made came, distant and hardly audible through the cracks of the now closed door. It really was too much for one person to bear, no matter how tough they might be. So as it would seem… the situation simply required two Leonardos. Two weird, insane… fucking brilliant cats.

She had teared up. Yeah, she was sure of it now. They would make it out okay.

**. . .**

The sun had just set as they arrived at their destination. It was a classy-looking hotel that Leo's parents had volunteered to pay for him and Aeris to spend the night in. Aeris had overcome her embarrassment regarding the matter, as embarrassment had no place between her and Leo. They had walked for about twenty minutes before arriving, and upon seeing it they both thought that it had "British" written all over it. They were pretty worn out from spending all day at the hospital and were now looking forward to collapsing on the beds the big hotel had to offer them.

Leo had separated from his dad after countless hours of talking. They had a lot of catching up to do, and the issue of his sickness wasn't mentioned before a couple of hours had passed.

Leo had made sure to inform his dad about his decision to focus on his work at the college and assured him he was serious about it, and the Second was really happy to hear that. They weren't talking about his illness light-heartedly, but they had both cried enough when they first saw each other; it took the better part of an hour for them to start communicating in a normal manner.

What they had agreed on was to simply stay together. Nothing could make either of them feel better about the situation, but being with each other was enough for now. Leo's presence had had a good impact on his dad, the exhaust of whom had led them to leave the hospital at around 10 p.m. Leo promised he'd be back first thing in the morning, and his mother had called for his sister to come by again, to which the latter had agreed to instantly. She would probably arrive in the next couple of days. Everything was arranged so that the Leonardos would be back together.

Leo had another feeling swell up inside him on their way to the hotel: he felt satisfied with himself. He had done what he needed to, and he was absolutely positive he'd commit himself to keep doing so for a long time. His sadness had matured inside him, allowing him to enjoy the complacency he was feeling, as well as the small trip to England. He liked trips. He loved just noticing the different people he saw on the street, passing by them, hearing them talk in their funny, familiar accents... Yeah, he liked it there.

He and Aeris entered the hotel and Aeris, out of habit, went on to arrange the room they would stay in by herself. _Room? Maybe rooms would be better… Nah, I'm being crazy._ She shook her head to get rid of the thought, earning her a puzzled look from Leo. She ignored it and started talking to the receptionist.

The receptionist was a female fox, a bit short, with a high-pitched voice and loads of make up. "How can I help you?" Leo smiled to himself at the sound of her voice, finding it to be funny. "Hi, we would like a room for the night, please." As Aeris said that, she noticed the fox's eyes widen a bit and her eyebrows lift as she looked at her and then at Leo.

The fox saw the faint smile still on his lips, him being a bit too tired, physically and mentally, to react fast enough and wipe it off his face. He instantly did so, not wanting to be rude and completely oblivious to the conclusion the receptionist had come to; unlike Aeris, who was painfully aware so. The dreaded blush came back to her face, causing her to feel embarrassed, more because of it rather than the misunderstanding.

That was the last hint the fox needed. The sides of her mouth alift and a playful sparkle in her eyes, she asked, looking at Aeris with meaning: "One double bed, miss?"

Aeris was about to correct her, probably much more forcibly than she should, but the clueless male was faster than her. "No, two singles please." He was a bit puzzled by the surprised look the fox gave him, and he came to the conclusion that she must have been new to the job. As for her, she was even more taken aback from the light tone in which he had replied. "Are… are you sure, mister?"

"Yeah, we're sure. Do you have any rooms or what?" Aeris had regained her posture. "Oh… Of course, um… May I see your IDs?"

They handed their IDs over and after they got the formalities done, they went to the second floor, where their room was waiting for them. Leo unlocked the door and was greeted by the pleasant sight of two fluffy, perfectly made beds facing a small tv, next to which was a door, obviously the bathroom. The beds were placed next to each other but a respectable distance, as the room was quite spacey. There was a balcony next to the one at the depth of the room.

Leo let out a deep purr and abandoned his luggage in front of that bed, choosing it for the night; he then made his decision official by jumping onto it with an impressive leap. Aeris smiled at the sight, as well as at the sound of his purr, and let herself fall on the other bed, the one closer to the door. They both let out a simultaneous sigh, causing them to chuckle afterwards.

"_Ooooh_… Aeris, did you know that in England it's custom for guests to sleep in their clothes?" "Oh, really?" she played along. "And I suppose a truly polite guest wouldn't take off their shoes either, right?" He smiled as he pushed his face against the cotton pillow. "Hm... I see you've done your homework..." They lay there for a few seconds, as if really intending to sleep in their clothes, but Aeris decided otherwise; she wasn't _that_ tired.

"Okay Leo, let's see you turn around!" He looked at her, not understanding what she meant, but he got the message as he noticed she had gotten up. "Yeap. Let's not be too polite, they'll think we're stupid." He said with a groan as he turned around and started undressing himself. Aeris smiled to that as she put on her pajamas. She turned to see Leo wearing his pajamas bottom and the shirt he was wearing under his hoodie. If it were summertime, he would probably be in his boxers. The bell was still on, of course.

"Hey, Leo" "Hm?" He had gotten under the sheet at his bed; she followed his example. "Do you remember that girl Carmelita, from middle school?" He smiled upon hearing her say that. "You thought so too, huh?" "Yeah! If that girl was taller, she'd be identical!" "I know right! Even though I don't think miss Fox would appreciate the resemblance… that voice, my God…" Aeris started laughing.

"Well, I wouldn't care too much… Never liked that girl." "She was the only girl that could threat to beat a higher classer and have some merit in her words other than you. That's why." He replied in a slight tease. "Oh shut up, stupid… She was just a bitch." "She was, like, 13!" "Hey, I know that stuff, okay? She wanted to become a cop, that's enough for me!"

Leo made a goofy face of wonder, one he thought would fit a philosopher. "I wonder… are all policemen like Swachencop?" Aeris pretended to give his question some thought. "Nah… I'm guessing most either don't care enough to work, or work on the important stuff… robberies, murders and the like." "Criminal Minds, I'm guessing?" he said, smiling with mischief. "That's FBI, Leo. And FYI, _I_ simply happen to know stuff!" "Mhm. Intruding… So you're saying only an elite few dedicate their lives to hunting down gamers like escaped convicts?" "Actually, I think we've hit a unique case… Lucky us!" They started laughing.

The whole conversation had been had with a merry, carefree tone. They continued to talk about this and that, to their mutual surprise. They were both very tired, but they had to make up for a whole week of complete absence of their trademark little talks, which they both enjoyed very much. Leo had missed his friend as well, even if he was too preoccupied to notice. They talked for a while after and then, as they were about to call it a night, Leo decided to ask a question that he had just though of.

"Say, Aeris?" "Yeah?" "Is it gonna be like this from now on too?" She threw her head at the side of the bed in which she lay on, looking at him. He was staring at the ceiling as he asked the question, but upon hearing her turn to him he did likewise. They faced each other. "What do you mean, flea-brain?" she asked. "Well… I just realized you'd expect that after… well, after this whole story…" he'd rather not have mentioned it, and it showed. Aeris frowned and her mood dropped by a lot. "What about it?" "Well, I figured you'd be… you know… easier on me. Well, easier than before, at least!" He added with a small chuckle.

The impact his phrase had on her was unexpectedly huge; her mouth was left agape and her eyes widened, as if what she had just heard frightened her. She dropped her ears and opened her mouth a few times before speaking in a rushed manner.

"Oh… Oh Leo, I'm sorry…! I know, it has to be hard, I just… you seemed…." "Woah, woah! Easy! Hey!" He laughed as he stood on his elbow. "When did I say I wanted you to, Aeris?"

She calmed down, now following his thoughts. "So… yeah, of course you wouldn't… want me to…huh?" "No, of course not! Just… be the same you always are! That's what helps me, anyways… And from what it seems, you can pull that off just fine." He winked at her as he brought his paws behind his head and layback on his pillow. She gave him a light smile.

"Well, it's easy when you look so… well, so cool about it." She switched to an inquisitive look of concern. "Are you _sure_ you're okay, Leo?" "No, of course not, Aeris." he replied instantly with an honest tone, his face looking neither depressed nor happy. She listened as he continued.

"I mean, it's… it sucks, you know? It does now… and it will ten years from now. It's like…" He paused and looked at the ceiling for a few seconds, his eyes narrowed in thought. "…Duke Nukem, if you want. You never feel better _about _it" He focused on her friends' face before he continued. "You just… move on to the next game… and you know, no matter how bad Duke Nukem Forever was, there are other, truly fun games to come. I'll always feel bad _about_ it… but it's not gonna ruin the other games for me, you see? So yeah…In the end," he concluded, "I'm fine. Or rather, I will be!" He followed his words with a wide smile.

She didn't speak for a while. _Only Leo would make such a coherence… _She gave him a slightly sad smile. He did have a point though. And she knew there would indeed be fun games ahead… she was sure.

Leo was satisfied to see her face lighten up, but she then gave him that bitter smile. "I'm sorry, Leo." she said, taking him by surprise. "What for?" "Well… I don't think I'll be able to be "normal" with you for some time. Even if I am for a bit, I'll just remember this whole thing and just… feel like I should give you a hug… know what I mean? I mean, come on" she concluded with a playful tone, "I'm good… but I'm not perfect!"

Leo looked her in the eyes from his bed. His mind formed his next sentence with extreme ease, as if he had been preparing it for hours. He smiled at her, not in his usual way, but keeping his lips closed. His eyes smiled in a different way from usual, too; their shimmer didn't betray excitement. It felt calmer, and deeper. He spoke.

"You know, Aeris… You _kinda are_." Her eyes slowly widened and she made a face blank with surprise as she comprehended his words. "…Huh?" "I meant it, Aeris. Back at the hospital… I meant it. I don't know what I would've done without you. Even now, this… this whole thing! Talking about this with you, so causally, but… not pretending that it's not a big deal, know what I mean? I… I don't think I could ever do that with anyone else." He smiled at her again, this time normally, a full set of white teeth showing. "Thanks, bestie! I'm happy you're here."

Her eyes remained opened wide as she looked at him smiling at her. Back at the hospital she was overwhelmed by hearing his plan, realizing he could manage a smile to comfort his dad, and didn't think about the expression of his gratitude. Now it was far more private than back there, and there were no distractions.

She was a bit stunned, thinking about what to say to him, and then she felt that annoying blush resurface for the umpteenth time that day, forcing her to think of something quickly; she was getting furious with herself, as this kind of behavior was the polar opposite of her usual one. Then again, that situation wasn't exactly "usual"… _But still!_

"Okay, we've had our sentimental part again today… You happy now, flea-brain?" Her annoyance at herself was expressed through her tone. Despite what she had just said, she turned around to prevent her friend from seeing her face, which was slowly turning pink, matching the rest of her body. "…You said it yourself… bestie. Now stop acting like a kitten and go to sleep, we're both tired!"

Leo was amused; he knew better than anyone, even Aeris herself, how bad she was at dealing with depth of feelings. He had also learnt to read through her- although not as good as he thought he had- and his deduction had left him satisfied; she was touched, and she understood how he felt. Going to sleep also sounded pretty good.

_Nighty night, England! I've got a lot of important stuff to do tomorrow._ "Right, right… sorry, then." His amusement was obvious in his voice. "Goodnight, Aeris!" "Mmph." Came her response, her back still turned.

Leo closed the light switch, which was between their two beds, and made himself comfortable in his bed. He was asleep before a full minute had passed. Aeris waited to hear his breathing become rhythmic, and the occasional light snore he let out whenever he was in deep sleep-which meant whenever he was asleep- before slowly turning around and facing him. He lay there, just as she had left him, facing towards the door behind her, one of his paws resting next to his head, on his pillow. His eyes were closed and his lips were almost closed as well, only a small crack left for his breath to exit from.

She looked at his sight for a few minutes, noticing the playful clock-like movement his tail made as it fell to the side of his bed. She followed it with her eyes for a few minutes, watching as it's tip brushed the floor with it's lazy, recurring movement. She then focused her eyes on his face again. For the first time in what felt to her like months, he was truly relaxed, sleeping in peace.

She could never guess what her expression was like as she stared at him.

"…Goodnight, Leo." She whispered the words softly before rubbing her head against her pillow and closing her eyes. She too was asleep within seconds.

**Hey! Listen! **

**For the next month, I'll be working on a little "experiment" of mine. The thought has been on my mind for a while now and, now that I've finally ****decided to materialize it, I've found myself getting pretty pschyched about it! I'm curious to see if you guys will like it... Guess I'll find out with the next update.**

**Well, go on, you know the drill! Be sure to leave a review and let me know what you thought of chapter 3. I'll see you all next month! :3**

**(Yeah, that was the "info". Insert evil laugh)**


	4. Chapter 35

**Experiment time!**

**Enjoy.**

**CH. 3.5**

**(Six Years Ago)**

Leo Leonardo the Third was casually strolling down the street near his home, a lazy smile on his face and a set of earphones in his ears. He was listening to some soft rock; _very_ soft rock… almost a lullaby, truth be told. He had just finished running some errands for his mother and was now free to enjoy the season; it was summer, and like most times of the year, he loved it.

The weather in Canada was very cold most of the time, so during summertime he enjoyed staying outside. That year there was a real heat wave, especially for the Canadian northerners, and that caused approximately 98% of Canada's population to passionately curse the sun, but as one would expect, the grey cat was part of the remaining 2%. He was wearing a very thin pair of grey pants, red shoes and a shirt with dark and light blue stripes. His bell was shining as he had made sure to polish it like he always did before going out somewhere with his friends.

At the moment he was headed to a Yu-Gi-Oh tournament that was being organized in a building near his neighbourhood. It wasn't him participating, though, but a friend of his, Trenaldo. He had been kind enough to invite him and his other friends, and despite Aeris' objections, the rest of the group wasn't bothered. Neil used to play the game too, and he said he had always been curious about the tournaments. Aeris had made sure to inform them of how weird Trenaldo was, but they reassured her that they'd be fine; _can't be much weirder than Leo, right?_

Leo felt an irrational pride as they accused him of being weird; it sounded like a praise to his ears, and he never seemed to care about his tainted social status. He hummed the slow tune of the song he was listening to as he passed through an alley, knowing it to be a shortcut. He laughed at the surprised looks he got from a house lady that was watering the plants on her window as he jumped over a fence, passing right next to said window and giving her a scare; he also didn't allow himself to be too bothered from the rather insulting reaction the lady had. He just went on his way. He was in a very, very good mood again today.

It was summer break and he pretty much had all of his day free of any obligations. He usually preferred spending that free time with Aeris, Krug and his other friends, especially the first of the lot, gamming his brain cells away. He always made it a priority to hang out with his school friends on a regular basis, though, as he wanted to still be close to them when summer break ended.

Mia and Max were away, however, on vacations; he felt a pinch of envy as he remembered. He hadn't been on vacations for many years, his father being rather caught up in his work. He shook the feeling off; he had much fun at home too, anyways. He liked spending time with his little sister, as she was an ascending gamer herself, and a good joker too. She preferred RPGs, though… much like Aeris. Too bad the two of them didn't get to spend more time with each other.

_Then again, I'm not sure I want Aeris rubbing off on Tiffa…_ He chuckled to himself at this little thought of his as he picked up his pace; he had finally caught sight of the building he was headed to. Trenaldo really _was_ weirder than himself, and that made him really fun to be around of; for Leo, anyways. Plus, he had a heart of gold, and that evened out his severely limited mental capacity.

Leo smiled as he thought about how many chances Trenaldo would have to drive Aeris crazy today. She had been in a bad mood lately, and that would usually concern him; he considered it to be an insult on his jester skills. He would normally focus on cheering her up one way or another, but today he was just excited about the tournament.

He had tried the game himself, back in the days, but he had found it to be rather unexciting. He had seen Aeris and Trenaldo get fired up over it, though, and it entertained him to no end. She had stopped playing that kind of games for a long time now, but he was hoping he would get to see a similar scene with the other participants. Plus, he would get to spend the rest of the day with his friends. That's what summer is all about, right?

He took in a deep breath and widened his laid-back smile as he approached his destination. _I have a feeling today is gonna be great!_

**. . .**

_Today couldn't suck any harder… _

The grim thought belonged, of course, to Aeris. She was standing in a small crowd of nerdy kids and adults who needed to reprioritize their life goals. _Fast._ She was wearing a light pink t-shirt with a stamp of Link from The Legend of Zelda series, who was expressing his annoyance due to continuously being referred to as "Zelda", a pair of purple shorts and white sandals. Lastly, her Triforce necklace was hanging from her neck.

She was with two of her friends, Neil and his sister Sarah, and they were looking for the hairy face of Trenaldo in the huge, crowded room in which the tournament was being held. She spotted him first and hesitated for a second, thinking that maybe if she pretended not to see him, they'd leave and go get some coffee or something of the like. She really hated the place… and the occasion.

She was pretty caught up in the game a few years back, and that was the only real interaction she had ever had with Trenaldo; he was a good player, and that was one of his few merits. She stopped playing after awhile, and even though she would never admit it to anyone, it was hugely because of the teases she received from Leo. Anyhow, after she had lost interest –for real- she felt that being around Trenaldo had little to nothing to offer her; she found that there were far too few redeeming qualities about him.

Still, she normally wouldn't be _this_ frustrated and unhappy about it, and would have managed to enjoy her time; especially with her two other friends around and flea-brain on his way.

But that day wasn't exactly "normal". She was on her period, and that was a pretty bad one. She never said anything to anyone, as she felt slightly embarrassed about it; she knew she had no reason to be, but she thought that matter to be a bit too private for anyone to meddle in.

Mia never hesitated to inform her friends whenever it was her time of the month, usually explaining why she didn't feel like going out at times. To Aeris' surprise, Leo had never joked about it. Perhaps he had realized that doing so at such a time would be inappropriate... or maybe he just wasn't close enough to Mia to do so. _Probably the latter._

Aeris also had other reasons to be unhappy. Her aunts had come to visit, which meant that her house was constantly full of people; people occupying the bathroom and the tv, and little cousins snooping into her things. And the worse part was that, even though she hardly knew those relatives of her's, she was obligated to act familiar with them and pretend she didn't mind whenever they entered her room without knocking, seemingly for no other reason than to bother her with meaningless chit chat. They were gone for the day, along with her parents, and she would finally have the house to herself for a bit… _If it weren't for this stupid tournament!_

The icing on the cake was that she had caught Sly, a raccoon from her school she had a little crush on, with another girl. And that girl was Carmelita Monta Fox, the single female with which she was on bad terms with the most from her whole grade. She just couldn't stand that girl. She had given Sly no hints, of course, and she really didn't think of him as anything serious, but that did little to prevent her mood from dropping below sea level as she spotted the two sharing an ice cream in the local mall a couple of days back.

In truth, she was feeling mad at the whole world for months now, and there always seemed to be a thing or two happening that managed to ruin her mood and get her down.

She grinded her teeth as they made their way to the table where Trenaldo was playing. He had a small group of people around him; friends of his with shared interests, and no doubt shared intelligence. She hated everyone at the moment. And thinking that Leo would arrive anytime now made her even more desperate to leave. Surely he'd be in a ridiculously good mood, as always, and he would try his hardest to annoy whoever sane he could locate in this nest of dorks. And she was afraid she would be on the top of his list.

"Hey! There you guys are!" She let out a quiet sigh as she turned around to face her best friend; as she had anticipated, a full set of pointy feline teeth were on display right above his shiny bell. "Hey man! What took you so long, you live right next to the place." Neil greeted Leo, who approached them from the entrance. "Yeah, I had to do some stuff for my mom. I'm guessing she doesn't like me slacking off…" "Wow, that's just… _Infeline…_" "I _know _right?!" Sarah let out a chuckle, following the jovial exchange between her brother and Leo.

"Sooooo… still grumpy then, are we?" Leo said in a playful tone, talking to Aeris. "You're a mindreader, Leo" "Heh, hello to you too, Aeris!" "Hmph." Neil and Sarah were pretty concerned about their pink friend, or rather the effects a possible outburst from her could have. Her attitude was really bad lately, as if she really _did _hate the whole world, and she was becoming hard to be around. It was obvious, though, that today was even worse than the usual…

Well, obvious to _them_, at least.

"Come on, Trenaldo's right there! Let's go talk to him." Leo suggested with obvious mirth in his voice."I think he's concentrating on his game right now… We don't have to bother him." Leo gave her a look that added to her ire, as if he was scolding a child. "Aeris, he invited us! Come on, lose the face already. We're here to have fun!" He urged her with a smile. "Nice plan we had there…"

Aeris received some strange looks from the siblings and Leo, who were made awkward by her rudeness. That made her even madder. "_Okay! Fine!_ Let's get this over with, Jesus…" She walked past Leo, leaving him staring at her back, a light frown shading his gaze. He shook it off right away and nodded to his friends to follow Aeris.

**. . .**

Aeris' day hadn't gotten any better. Leo was being the energetic beast he was, and he was dragging the siblings along with him; Trenaldo was on a winning streak, and the three of them were rooting for him audibly and in high spirits. Leo was even trying psychological warfare on his friend's opponents; distraction and intimidation. His attempts gave Sarah the hiccups.

Truth is, Aeris had had many chances to rid herself of her foul mood. She didn't, though, and that was ultimately her choice. She had settled on that dark place people sometimes do, and she didn't feel like leaving it. She remained annoyed and grumpy throughout the whole "ordeal", as she thought it to be.

Trenaldo did very well up to a point, but he eventually lost. Apparently that was enough for him to be knocked out of the tournament, and he and his buddies took it pretty harshly. Leo tried his hardest to drop his smile and act angry and frustrated, although he didn't really care too much. He was growing a little bored, actually, and he quickly regained his festivity as he congratulated his friend for his success this far. Trenaldo, true to his nature, was in complete depression for about half a minute, and then responded to the congratulations he was receiving with a goofy smile.

Neil and Sarah followed Leo's example and then they all prepared to leave. Before they could, though, it was announced that Trenaldo had actually won third place in the tournament. "Oh, _come on!" _Aeris' desperate cry wasn't heard by anyone over the sound of the reactions the announcement had caused.

The cheers resumed as Trenaldo picked his prize; a latex-covered special edition trading card. He shone with happiness as he received it, and even posed for a friend of his to take a picture with his cell phone. This took them about twenty minutes, and only then did the group take it's leave. The said group was composed of Trenaldo, Leo, Neil, Sarah and Aeris. The latter was far too angry to be satisfied with their leave; they had spent most of the day anyways.

They headed for a nearby Starbucks to get some pie. Trenaldo was staring at the card he had won as they walked, making sounds that resembled a three year old admiring a shiny object. Aeris was now at the breaking point, and she was stomping in front of everyone, her back turned towards them; one could almost see smoke coming out of her ears.

The sun was soon to set. Leo had spent his day in a very amusing manner, and he thought that grabbing a bite with his friends was the perfect way to end it. There was an unusual absence in the gaming department, but he only noticed that now; he really did enjoy his time, so he didn't mind one bit.

At some point, he averted his eyes from Neil, with whom he was having an argument regarding the latest and more complicated rules of the card game, and looked at Aeris' back. His smile faded away; he didn't like the way she was behaving today. Aeris was always a bit… edgy… but she was always fun too, when she wasn't angry at him. Hell, she was fun even when she _was_ angry at him! Today was different though… And so were the recent months…

He picked up his pace and caught up to her. "Um, Aeris?" "Flea-brain?" Her tone was less than encouraging. _Ugh…_

"Dunno how to say this nicely, but… You look _terrible_ today!" She gave him a menacing look. "You're s_o kind,_ Leo…" She replied, rolling her eyes in frustration. "Well, okay, you know what I mean! Come on… Wasn't it fun today?" "Oh, _please!" _ She exclamated the instant he completed his question. His ears dropped as she looked at him; that was a _really_ bad period indeed.

"What part of that was "fun", Leo? You'd have to be a fucking _retard_ to enjoy this!" She at least had the courtesy to yell at him in private, in a hushed tone that only he could hear. Sarah and Neil could tell what their talk was about, and kept their distance as they talked with Trenaldo -who had of course noticed nothing- about the game, drawing his attention to them.

"Well, I'm sorry to say this, Aeris," Leo replied, now getting slightly aggravated himself, "but all your friends appear to be retards!" She scoffed. "Well for once, we agree!" "Hey, it wasn't exactly my "thing" either, and you know it!" He was frowning as he did was he believed was a preaching, the kind his parents would usually give him. "But me and Neil and Sarah made the best out of it! Besides, Trenaldo invited us. He didn't have to, but-" "Oh, I'm _so thankful!_ Been a while since we had wasted a whole _fucking_ day!"

She had yelled those words out loud, catching Trenaldo's attention. He pointed his gaze at the two felines that were walking a short distance in front of him. Sarah and Neil exchanged a look of concern. "It's nothing, Trenaldo, our stuff", Leo tried to ease his friend up as Aeris kept walking, her breaths becoming heavier by the minute. She couldn't fully explain her rage herself, but she felt it slowly taking over.

Leo was growing increasingly worried now; Aeris was _out of her mind_! He should have noticed, but lately she had been keeping her distance from him as well. Always belittling him and Max for being immature and generally acting somewhat… _snobbish_. The last few months, Aeris was acting very weird, and anyone else would have been insulted by her behaviour. At this point Leo wondered if it was the right time to confront her about it.

"Aeris, you've been very mean to everyone lately. I'm not gonna tell you how you should act, but shouldn't you be more lenient towards us? All of us, really… we can't even talk to you without getting an insult out of it! I mean… we're your friends!" He told her as they once again picked up their pace; he dragged her along with him, keeping a safe distance from the rest of the group. Trenaldo was now looking at their backs with question all over his hairy face.

"Well, I've got my off days, Leo! Not everyone can be fucking ecstatic all damn time! And if you want to be an idiot like you always are, then at least don't involve _me_ in it! And definitely not with _Trenaldo!" _He felt she had crossed the line. "What has he even _done_ to you?! _He_ called _us_, even though we don't hang out like we used to! Aeris, what has gotten into you, seriously? You're not normally like this…" They had both resumed their hushed tone, and Leo was trying his hardest to find balance between arguing with Aeris and figuring out what was the cause of her terrible attitude. He didn't feel confident he could pull it off, though, and he was afraid he would screw up in both.

Aeris didn't respond, but instead started walking faster, letting out a snort and an taking on an expression of contempt. She was acting like she really couldn't stand being around them… not even around him. For the first time, Leo felt hurt; they had been best friends for 6 years now, all the way through grade school, and current 16 year old Aeris seemed to… to _hate_ him. He would not usually allow things to get him down, but this was different.

For the first time, Aeris felt truly hostile… And she was his best friend, so he couldn't stand that feeling. He wasn't going to let that pass; he extended his arm and grabbed her shoulder. "Aeris, I'm talking to you!"

She instantly turned and slapped his paw away with force. "And I'm _ignoring_ you, Leo! I have the right to do that, you know! _You_ give it to me with every Goddamn opportunity! Now get off my back, I told you I'm not in the mood!"

Leo honestly expected an apology from her. He was taken aback from her counter assault; that girl hardly resembled his best friend. "I've had about all the stupid I can handle for today..." She added as she turned around again, moving away from him.

Sarah and Neil were frozen in place, with Trenaldo standing between them. They had always known Aeris to be moody and have a short temper, but a behaviour this bad was unexpected. And unacceptable. Sarah was always keen on forgiving her friends, and she was so even now, despite not being able to give Aeris any rights in acting the way she did, but... Not to that extent.

Neil, on the other hand, had been thinking that Aeris' comportment required an intervention for a long time. He had been on the brink of confronting her about it like Leo just had many times before, but Leo stopped him every time, lightening up the mood, trying to gate Aeris to loosen up or simply changing the subject. As he was once again aggravated by the treatment he and his friends received from the pink cat, he decided that it was high time he did something about that issue, since Leo was a bit too stunned to do so himself. Trenaldo, however, spoke up before the tall cat had time to mouth a word.

"But…! But I won the cardz! And everyone there was really tough, you knowz? Wasn't it fun?" He asked her in an excited tone. "Well, I'm sorry Trenaldo, but that wasn't my highlight of the week, you know? Just not my thing." She replied to him, far more forcefully than she intended to; not that she cared. She turned her back to him once more. He was speaking that way, trying to make her feel better; he felt guilty, thinking that he was the cause of her displease. Leo felt like a volcano was ready to erupt, and he was desperately trying to figure out what to do to prevent it.

But he was too late to notice. "Come on, Aerish…" said Trenaldo in a sheepish voice, much like a kid excusing himself for a mischief. "Look, diz iz special edition!" He caught up to her, positive he could help pick up her mood.

Sticking the card in her face didn't do much for that, though.

She lost it. She turned and knocked the card clean out of his hand and onto the road; the strike could have damaged it badly. Trenaldo's eyes shot open with surprise and terror and he let out a small shout as the card left his hand.

"I don't _care_ about the stupid card, Trenaldo! For fuck's sake, I don't play the game anymore, none of us do! Why on _earth_ would you think that we'd want to come!? I-" She suddenly paused her yelling; she had just noticed the tense stares of her friends. Trenaldo was carefully picking his card up, checking for any damage with eyes full of horror.

"...You know what? It was stupid of me to tag along in the first place. I'm going home." Aeris concluded; the looks on her friends' faces had given her a bizarre feeling in her gut. She turned tail and made for her house, the newfound feeling bothering her, causing her stomach to twist as she walked away.

**. . .**

The group watched her storm off, completely dumbstruck. Sarah felt really unsure about her next action, as she blamed the whole scene completely on Aeris. Still… she looked like she needed some help… right? She felt annoyed, sure as she was that everyone would think her to be weak for doing so, but she followed Aeris, meaning to try and talk some sense into her. "Aeris, wait!" she had let her brother know about her intentions with a look before running after her.

As the two disappeared in the distance, Neil was regaining his voice. And boy, he was about to use it to dig Aeris as deep as he could. That was the last straw; they had to do something about her. He was about to start complaining, but then Leo regained his composure as well. And the first thing he did was move over to Trenaldo.

"Hey, is the card alright?" He asked with friendly concern. "Yesh… I thinkz sho…" Trenaldo answered through his sniffling; he had teared up. "It's okay. I bet the latex coating makes them more resistant!" "..Yeah…" Leo kept trying to make him feel better; his expression didn't betray any thoughts. Neil, however, needed to speak his mind. "I'm sorry Trenaldo. There's no excuse for that… I don't know what's gotten into her, but we're not letting that one pass!"

He looked at Leo, who kept his eyes focused on Trenaldo. "…Right, Leo?" "Come on, Trenaldo! Let's go get that pie, don't' worry about her. She'll be fine." "…What? What do you mean, she'll be fine?! Who the hell cares!?" Neil started yelling angrily.

Leo was closer to Trenaldo than Neil, though, and he knew him much better. "I… I shouldn't had called youz… It was boring, right? Shorry…" He looked like a little cup as he gave his superfluous apology. "No way, man! We had loads of fun! Aeris has her own problems right now, it's got nothing to do with you! Honest!" Leo assured him with a wide smile of comfort as he got him on his feet. Neil finally decided to help him out, and the two of them got Trenaldo to resume walking as they headed for the local Starbucks.

After he had calmed down a bit, Neil resumed the issue of Aeris' nasty conduct. "Leo? You know we can't let that one slip by, right?" Leo didn't answer him; he looked at the ground under his feet as he walked. "Leo, you can't excuse her for that! I mean, come on! She's been a total _bitch_ to us –to everyone- for months! I won't forgive her for that. If she is our friend, then she _has_ to act better!" He looked at him again; he hadn't averted his stare from at the pavement. "…_Say something!" _

"Aeris is our friend" Leo stated simply, slight confusion in his voice. "She _was_, at least." replied Neil. He was meaning to inform him that he didn't intend to keep connections with her if she kept this up. Maybe not even if she tried to change, after this. He was furious at her as he said that, of course, but he did believe he was just.

"…A bitch, huh…" Leo said looking at Neil. He had now frowned and his lips had drawn back a bit. "… You're right." "_Thank _you!" Neil's voice was loud and tense; the sight of heartbroken Trenaldo was making him even angrier.

"Grab us a booth, I'll be right back. Don't worry Trenaldo… it's okay." Leo added, patting his friend on the shoulder before picking up his pace and walking by the Starbucks building. "Hey! Where the hell are you going?" Neil asked him in surprise as he walked away with swift steps. "To find Aeris!" he replied in a loud voice. Neil cursed silently, clueless as to what his friend was planning on doing, and entered the building with Trenaldo.

Leo was walking fast, heading for Aeris' place. He couldn't argue with Neil, he was indeed right. So was Leo, though; Aeris _was_ his best friend for the last 6 years, he reminded himself. And he knew her. He was certain he did. So he'd meet up her and look into the situation. He would find out what was going on. He would find out if Aeris had really changed into that pink monster he had seen today or if his best friend needed his help so as not to turn into that.

He felt mad at her, and was hoping he still would when he met her. Otherwise, his fear might show. His great fear, that maybe he had just lost his pink friend, his gaming buddy. His _best _friend… _What if she did change, then? What if __that is__ Aeris now?_ The thought gave him the chills. If it were true… He wouldn't know what to do. So far, he just knew he could trust her, as her friend. But now he wasn't so sure…

He shook the thought off and picked up his pace. He'd find out soon enough.

**. . .**

Sarah was not taking her eyes off of Aeris. She looked at her wearily, as if expecting her to explode again any minute now. That made her sick. She didn't want Sarah's presence in her house at the moment, but for some reason, she couldn't send her away either. The feeling in her gut was still bothering her; even though she had let some of her frustration out, she was actually feeling worse than before. _What the fuck?_

They were in the pink cat's house, sitting in her room. It was on the ground floor of a two-storey building, and it was completely covered in pink. Her pc was looking at the door, right across the room and next to a window. Her purple bed was on the left side of the room, looking sideways at the window, next to her desk. There were many figures of her favourite fictional characters on the shelves of the small bookcase that was hanging from the wall next to the door. Lastly, there was a medium sized poster of Starfox on the wall over her bed, completing the décor she had chosen herself.

Sarah was sitting on the bed, while Aeris was sitting on the chair in front of the pc. She was looking outside the window, dealing with her terrible mood, trying to find out how to bate the strange feeling which was discreetly growing more intense as time passed. They were listening to some punk rock songs from the pc; neither of them liked that genre, really, and they were familiar with them only through Max, but Aeris had put them on anyways as she figured the music might defuse her a bit; even so, she kept the volume low enough for them to talk with ease.

They were silent though. Sarah had caught up to her fast, and she had tried to talk to her as they walked, to get her to apologize maybe, hoping she could come to understand why she was behaving like this. Aeris, however, repelled her attempts, and Sarah decided she should just be with her for a bit, thinking that maybe she Aswould be more open to a conversation after she had calmed down. And so, she had followed Aeris all the way to her house. The latter didn't comment at all when Sarah suggested that she "hung out" with her for a bit, and she didn't complain when her friend entered the house.

Half an hour had passed before Sarah could start a conversation. "Aeris, why are you doing this?" she ended up asking nervously. "_Oh my God, _Sarah, _please_, not now…" "Aeris, this was _terrible_, and you know it!" "I have little tolerance on idiocy, what can I do? And in case you didn't notice, Trenaldo is a _major_ case of it!" "I'm not saying he's not, but…" "I mean," Aeris cut her off. "Come on! What could I do? He stuck the card in my face… I know he didn't _mean_ to annoy me but… Well, he did!" The first hint of an excuse. Sarah thought that to be a good sign.

"You went too far, Aeris." "He _forced _me to!" "_Trenaldo _did?!" "Well… everything! Him too, but everything!" Aeris was now looking at her, her voice loud enough to silence the music from the pc. "I've… I've just been in a bad mood for a few weeks, and everyone's treating me like I killed a guy!"

"We're your friends, Aeris!" Sarah rose her voice a bit, following her example; she ignored the "few weeks" part, meaning to come back to it later. "It hurts us to see you acting like this, whatever the reason! You just feel a bit down so you turn on us the way you do?" "When the _hell_ did I turn on you?!" Aeris replied, frustrated and surprised by Sarah's accusation.

"The past few months, you've been too high and mighty to even talk to us, Aeris! Max can't open his mouth without you saying something demeaning to him! And you've even been giving _Leo_ the cold shoulder! Honestly, Aeris, you've been making it hard to be around you, but we _want_ to be around you, and it's hurting everyone! You're not snobbish, you've never been, so why-"

"Hard to be around me?"

The whole phrase about her friends wanting to be around her might as well have never been said. Aeris focused on the other sentence, finding an outlet for her anger. "Well, I don't want be forcing you guys…" She said grimly, keeping her voice threateningly calm and making a matching face. "If I'm such a bother… you should have told me earlier…" Sarah grew desperate, seeing how her friend was reacting. "Aeris, you know that's not-" "Oh, _come on, _Sarah! You made your point clear. If you'd rather be hanging out with guys like Trenaldo, then have it your way, nothing I can do! Go to him, then! I'm sure he'll appreciate you guys much more than mean Aeris would! Come on, go!"

Sarah's ears dropped as Aeris, now on her feet, pointed at the door. She was afraid things would end up this way, and now she could see no way around it other than retreating. She honestly expected better of Aeris… Whatever was wrong with her would eventually cost her much. Everyone in their group was close with each other, and Aeris was no exception. She would feel terrible for speaking like this… for acting like this, eventually. If _she ever admits it, that is…_ She slowly got up from the bed, admitting her defeat.

As Aeris was standing up, pointing at the door, an angry look on her face and her breath rushed and heavy, she was forming a new kind of thought in her head. It felt like it had emanated from the feeling in her stomach, which was now acting up even more.

_What the hell am I saying? _

Sarah looked terribly saddened as she got up, and that caused a small storm to erupt inside Aeris. She had never seen her so sad. _I caused that. _A shockwave was shot up to her chest as she realized that. It made her feel even worse, and it's expression to the outside was the addition of even more anger in her expression. If Sarah were calmer she would have noticed the difference, but she weren't. She gave Aeris one last look before walking past her, heading for the door of the pink feline's room with ears stuck to her skull.

She wasn't looking at her now. Aeris' fury had intensified. It wasn't aimed at anything, really… no one specific, no one she could think of. She looked at the floor and held her hand over her eyes. She felt like she was on fire, and it hurt her. She heard Sarah take a few steps outside her room. This anger she felt _hurt_. It _hurt_, it hurt like hell, and she couldn't bear it. She didn't want her friend to leave… But she was; she really was. Why was she leaving?! _Because you told her to. _But…!

Before she could argue with the voice in her head, the image of Trenaldo's face as she knocked his card out of his hand flashed in front of her. The feeling was now taking over, slowly but steadily. She tried to make a sound, but her mouth was left agape; the damn thing had blocked her throat. She took a deep breath; Sarah was now opening the front door of her house.

Another image popped up in her head; the looks she had gotten from her friends, before she walked away. Her head started hurting. She had gotten such looks in the past, when she talked to her parents about the games she enjoyed, or when she had described one of her wet dreams to Mia. But for the first time ever, _Leo_ was looking at her like this…

Just as she was thinking that, she heard Sarah's voice from outside her front door. "Leo? What are you-" "Is Aeris in?" It really was Leo's voice. A great force Aeris assumed was her willpower pushed the state she was in just a second ago away, and she started breathing in rapidly. She wanted to be alone again. She had to tell him to leave.

She wiped her face clean of the sweat that had appeared on it and slowed down her breathing, trying to regain her composure before her best friend could face her.

**. . .**

"Is Aeris in?" Leo asked Sarah, right outside Aeris' house. The question was of course unnecessary, but he asked it anyways. Sarah looked a bit wrecked as she was walking outside, and that gave both his fear and his anger a boost. "Yeah… Leo, I don't think you should go in right now. She's-" "Neil is with Trenaldo at Starbucks. Go meet up with them, okay? We'll talk later." He rushed a smile as he walked past her and entered the house.

Sarah didn't know how to react. Never before had she really exchanged more than three words with Leo without him making a silly joke, or a funny gesture, or a witty remark. She decided to follow him into the house; she wanted to see what he planned to do, and help him out, if possible.

Leo had been in this house many, many times now. He was familiar with the living room and the hallway, and so he headed for Aeris' room straight away. The door was wide open, left so by Sarah, and he could hear the music coming from inside. He paused for a second before entering, noticing the sound of heavy breathing that came from the interior. His face looked determined; yet another look Sarah had never seen on him. He took a deep breath before knocking on the open door, as if trying to be polite.

Aeris turned to him, her frustration again clear on her face, making it's presence obvious in the linings of her face. But in front of Leo, she felt differently; the anger didn't urge her to hit him, yell at him or throw stuff at him like usually. Instead, it made her want to get away from him. She yearned for privacy. Thinking that, she spoke first, in a rushed tone which she purposely enhanced with anger.

"Get out! I want to be alone." Leo leaned on the threshold, giving her a vacant stare. He didn't respond in any way. "I said, _get out_!" Aeris' attempt to add yet more anger to her voice backfired, as she retreated instead of walking up to him and physically opposing him, as she had planned to. "I know, I heard you. But I want to talk." Leo didn't move an inch as he said that; once he did, though, he lowered his head and walked into the room.

Aeris scoffed. "_Talk_, you say? Well, this ought to be interesting! What do you have to say, flea-brain?" She was offensive, as this was her only means of defense at the moment. "Ask, actually. I want to ask you something." Her breathing became heavier as he placed his hand on one side of her desk while she was standing at the other end. She was frustrated, uneasy and nervous, while he was calm and composed; the exact opposite of his typical self.

He wasn't cold, though, not even remotely. He didn't try to hide the emotion in his voice, which was heavy with aggression; he was mad at her. She was expecting that, but his tone still surprised her; she had never associated it with the sound of his voice. "You're a real idiot, you know that?" Her face pulled back even more, causing some of her sharp teeth to show; she tried to make him express his anger, or scare him into letting it go and turning all goofy again. He would be easier to deal with then.

"Of course I do, Aeris. You remind me all the time, after all." His voice didn't change; his face, however, twitched into a light scowl. He observed her closely; she felt regret, that was certain. But she fought back against it, as if not wanting to acknowledge it. This was both a good and a bad sign, he thought, but he didn't allow any relief or worry to surface; he reminded himself of Trenaldo, and afterwards of her snobby acts of the last months. Of the aggression she had exhibited towards their friends, of the unfair yelling he and Max, and even Neil, once, had to go through. His anger suddenly flared up in the form of a single thought that swept his mind like a tsunami.

_That person has no right to do that to MY Aeris. _He started speaking.

His face was bending slightly around the sides of his mouth as he spoke, the muscles of his face showcasing his anger towards the pink cat. His ears' pointy ends were shaking for the same reason. "I want to ask you to stop bothering my friend. No, cross that, I _demand_ that you stop." Aeris was taken aback; he was pretty straight forward. Plus, she expected Leo to try to calm her down, or to try to lighten the mood like always did. Instead, he openly accused her of hurting Trenaldo.

Her anger didn't welcome the new pang of guilt; she had forgotten about it for a second. "Leo, I know I overreacted a bit, but I was in a pretty dark place, okay? If it wasn't Trenaldo but literally _anybody_ else, he would have just let me be and we'd still be fine. Now, please ju-" "You've got it wrong." Leo cut her off. His breathing had grown a bit more rapid. "I'm referring to _you_ giving _Aeris_ a bad name."

She eyed him in surprise for a couple of seconds before responding, seemingly frustrated. "Oh my _God_, Leo, you're such a fucking drama queen…" "Oh, I'm glad you think so!" Leo took a step forward, catching her off guard. "Because usually I'm _stupid_, _immature_ and _impossible_ to communicate with! But I'm sure I'm _still_ all those things, aren't I?"

"What do you want, you want me to pet your ears and treat you with the glove every time we're together?" Aeris replied angrily. _What, is he offended_? _We've always been like this though!_ "We're friends, you shouldn't bother with-" "_Are_ you my friend, Aeris?"

She was once again taken by surprise. Leo's anger doubled in the brief second before her answer came. "Of course I am! Leo, just because I-" "Then why the _FUCK_ are you acting like this?!"

She was completely stunned; Leo had _never_ yelled at her, and he absolutely hated cursing. Sarah was equally surprised, standing at the door of the room, and looked at Leo with astonishment in her widened eyes. For the first time since any of the two females had known him, he looked absolutely _furious_.

"Trenaldo calls us out, the whole group agrees to go, we all have a good time and not only are you being too fucking _snooty_ to enjoy your time with us, you also go and hurt him like that! Am I the only one here missing the "friendship" in all this?!" "Okay! I had a bad day, I shouldn't have done what I did, but Trenaldo is hard to put up with, too! If only he had-"

"TRENALDO IS _DUMB_! I know that! You think I don't?! He's a pain to be around because of that, right? He's off on his own world, he doesn't speak properly, he's nerdy… All those _terrible _things, he is! Am I wrong?" He mouthed the question in a yell; Aeris didn't respond. Her breath had once again grown rapid, and she slowly retreated towards her bed as Leo raged on.

He paused for a second before continuing in a voice of false calm. "Well, except for that one time when he came to pick us up with his van, at the concert, right? Yes, of course, the idiot has some use… Oh, and back when we he helped us carry the new gaming system I bought; the one we _both _played on, right? Yes, then too…" His cold tone was more aggressive than any holler he could have ever managed.

"Leo-" she tried to talk back at him, but he once again cut her off. "AND THEN!" He shouted, before lowering his voice again, trying to speak properly through his tantrum. "Back when you wanted to try playing D&D, the board game, he and Krug were the only ones that accepted, right? Yeah, I think… he was the only one who had gotten excited over it. You didn't mind all those times, did you, Aeris? It was _okay_ then, wasn't it? _Why_, though? You had something to _gain_, maybe?" "That's not it!" She shouted back at him. She felt her eyes water. _What was it, then?_

Leo ignored her. "But you see, that's the thing! Trenaldo isn't perfect! He has many –oh, _so_ many- flaws! The only thing that really set him apart from all the idiots out there is that he was _your friend!_" He basically spat the last two words at her; she retreated even more, trying her hardest to think of an argument to defend herself with.

"It's not so different with _you_, you know!" he continued. "You're not easy to deal with either! You're moody, you get annoyed easily, tons of things! But Aeris, I've always considered those things the _price_ I had to pay to be your friend! It was my _job _to let it all slide, so I can be with you! That's what we all did!"

"But not everyone is as good at bearing with them as I am, Aeris! Not everyone is used to your fucking attitude! It takes a _friend _to do so, like we all did when we hung out with you, like Trenaldo did when he invited you today! And after that… after those past few months, Aeris, I don't know if the price is fucking _WORTH_ it anymore!"

Aeris' eyes shot open as she heard the last phrase come out of his mouth. The fear she had felt as Sarah was walking away from her resurfaced, even stronger than before. She couldn't talk back.

"That's how much it counts for, though, isn't it?! A _bad day_, and it's okay to treat him like shit, to go mad on him! Hit him, shout at him, break his spirit! Oh _Lord, _the choices…! And you chose to hit his prize card; because you _knew_ it would hurt him the most! Good _fucking _choice, Aeris!"

"S-stop it, Leo…!" she finally managed to let out a stutter. Her eyes were teary now, and her lips were shaking, an expression of pain on her face. She couldn't think of anything else to say against all the accusations Leo was throwing at her. "Why, Aeris? Are you going to hurt me, too? Well, why not! Here you go, hit me! I'm right here, come on! I'm not any better than a random dumbass, right? No better than Trenaldo, surely!" "That's not true! You-" A few tears run down her cheeks.

"But _why, _Aeris? What's different between me and him? I'm an idiot, much like him, you've made that clear so far! I'm also a _"friend"_ of yours, aren't I?" The sarcastic tone he put on the word "friend" hit her like a hammer; her sight was getting blurry from the tears. "I'm also making you mad on your "bad day", right? Why _wouldn't _you hit me?"

"Leo... y-you're my… my _best_…!" She was now sobbing audibly. Sarah was completely dumbstruck by the scene; Aeris weeping and Leo towering above her, yelling at her. "And you are _mine_, Aeris! _My_ best friend! But I'm not _smart_ enough, it seems! I don't know what to d-" His voice broke down with a hiccup, his rage rushing itself out of his throat. He took a deep breath and averted his eyes from the pink cat, looking at the window behind him, and then immediately looked back at her; at the broken girl she was, struck by the realization of the truth he was yelling at her.

"I don't know what to do", he continued, "when my best friend is always angry at me, just for existing! When she's embarrassed that she's friends with me, with our other friends, because she suddenly grew ten years older, leaving us all behind! When I'm too little in her eyes to help her when she's feeling bad, when she no longer thinks I'm worth sharing her troubles with! When everyone is suddenly _so unimportant_… That it makes no difference if we _care_ or not! When-"

_"I'm sorry" _

The sound came from her suddenly, without any warning whatsoever. She wasn't crying now. Her eyes and cheeks were wet, but tears weren't coming out anymore. Leo stopped upon hearing her; he tried to rein his anger for the first time since he had begun shouting. Aeris looked lost, disoriented and unstable. She looked at Leo, mouth slightly open, lips still shaking and a confused expression on her face. 'I… I'm sorry… Leo…?" She spoke his name quietly and in question. He observed the results of his assault.

She slowly brought her hand in front of her mouth, covering it while using her other hand to throw her weight on her desk. She stared at a vacant space in the distance, her eyes full of tears that weren't coming out. She knew then, she finally realized, what she had done, what she had been for some time now, how she had treated her friends…

Aeris then broke apart. Her face drew back, her sapphire eyes became two small cracks as she started crying. She looked down and slowly sat on the bed. Leo stood above her, surprised but too filled with adrenaline to show any signs of it.

He and Sarah watched as their friend's cries intensified. She now brought both her paws to cover her mouth and leaned forward as she sat on the bed, letting out occasional loud cries even through her shut mouth. Leo stood in front of her. He had never seen her in such a state, and he had never imagined Aeris could wind up like this, ever. The music from the pc, which seemed to have disappeared ever since Leo had started yelling, was now audible again. That specific song had a long, lively guitar solo which couldn't feel any more off in the aftermath of his outburst.

The sounds Aeris was making sounded clearly despite her mouth being blocked; she was heartbroken. There would be little difference in her reaction if she had just found out she had indeed killed a person. Her behaviour in the months before came back to mind, under a whole new light. The way she belittled her friends, the way she so openly made fun of Neil for his naïve, romantic views… The way she really made Max feel unsafe to speak at all… and how she had even pushed Leo away.

It was guilt; terrible, heart-splitting guilt. That was the feeling that was bothering her, and Leo had drawn it out in all it's might. She felt dirty, and mean, and vile… She _hated_ herself, with all her heart. And it was the most painful sentiment she had ever experienced.

As all this was happening, as Aeris was crying her lungs out in front of him, Leo, in between his bitterness and his anger, had a bright realization: Aeris wouldn't cry like this; not the Aeris he was used to… or was getting used to. This reaction reminded him of an old friend he hadn't seen in nearly five years, a friend he had begun to think was lost for good.

The realization was that he was wrong. This Aeris in front of him was exactly the same Aeris he had had met in that school hallway, six years ago, when he –accidentally, it's true- helped her out while pulling a prank on Snake. The same girl, exactly the same. It was still her. She had taken on some new traits while growing up, but it was still her. All she needed was a reminder.

His relief and joy could have easily overshadowed his other, darker feelings, had he allowed them to. But he knew he wasn't done yet. "_I'm sorry…! _Oh… God, Leo I… I'm so… _so…_" Aeris said amidst her cries after she had wept for some time. It was hard for her to speak through her sobs; the remorse she was feeling was crushing her.

"Aeris" Leo cut her off. She didn't look up to his face; she kept sobbing loudly, her hands now holding her head tightly as she leaned all the way to her knees. _"Aeris!" _Leo repeated, this time grabbing her from her arms and shaking her a bit, forcing her to look into his face. His voice was still tense and heavy, but no longer furious, at least.

"I'm _crazy_ mad at you", he said with emotion as he stared into her eyes. She averted them from his, clearly in pain as she received those words, but he put himself in her sight again and continued. "But _I…_" he placed one paw onto his chest. "am not hurt. Not right now. Don't apologize to _me… _do you understand?" She looked at him, tears still flowing out of her reddened eyes and making their way over her flushed cheeks.

She understood. And what he was suggesting was perhaps the only thing that could help her deal with this terrible feeling of self-loathing that was taking over her entirely at the moment. She nodded at him slowly, then a bit faster, and then she got up, still sobbing and sniffling. She wiped her nose with the back of her hand and then rushed her way to the door, supported by Leo.

Sarah was then forced back into reality. She was still completely stunned, but not stunned enough not to help Aeris walk. She was a total wreck; she apologized to her too many times as they walked, and Sarah repeatedly said things like "it's okay" and "don't worry", trying to calm her down. She had never before seen her friend this shaken. Leo, on the other hand, looked much calmer than when he had first arrived at Aeris' house, despite his scowl. He had his paw passed over her shoulders, providing her with whatever comfort he thought he should. As they exited the house and headed for the cafeteria, Aeris' mind was filled with nothing but qualms, and the impending apology she would give to Trenaldo.

There was one more thing though. It was something Aeris would naturally think of, even in this kind of state; it was perhaps the most defining part of her character. And it wasn't contempt, or arrogance, or bitterness, or anger. It wasn't hate either, nor helplessness.

It was something that had sprung out of her grief: sheer determination to set things right, to apologize properly. She would humiliate herself completely if she had to. She had remembered now, just how important her friends were to her.

They arrived at the Starbucks building; the sun was now setting, slowly sinking into the horizon. The sounds of the street seemed few and distant, as if in the background of a movie. Leo could see Neil and Trenaldo sitting in a booth through the glass of the shop. They had grim looks on their faces, and Trenaldo seemed pretty depressed.

Leo looked over at Aeris and saw her tears still flowing; she looked far more depressed than Trenaldo did. After observing her for a few seconds, he folded the arm he had over her shoulders, getting her closer to himself. He had let his anger go, and his tone was soft and encouraging, although not yet playful as it normally was, as he spoke to her.

"Ready?" She gave him a single look, then sniffed again and took a deep breath while looking towards the glass door. The three of them entered the building.

**. . .**

Aeris' apology was indeed mortifying. Trenaldo had taken on a scared look as he saw her, and Neil gave her a stare of contempt; both expressions disappeared once they noticed her a bit better. She very openly apologized to Trenaldo for her actions earlier that day, and she added numerous apologies for all the times she had been hard on him in the past. She said, very bluntly, that she had been "a bitch to everyone" and that she was really, _really_ sorry. She burst out in quiet cries as she mouthed these words, repeatedly apologizing until her voice slowly died off.

Trenaldo was not talking at all; he was just sitting there, listening to Aeris' apology and utilizing his every brain cell in order to understand what was transpiring. His mouth was slightly agape and his eyes were widened under his frowning brows, him not fully believing what he was seeing.

Neil, on the other hand, was not even trying to comprehend the situation. He was simply shocked. He just stared at his repentant friend as she started apologizing to him as well, for the way she had been treating him recently. After she was done pretty much everyone in the cafe was looking at their direction; and she showed absolutely no signs that she cared.

Aeris looked at her feet, still sobbing, waiting for them to comment. In her mind she expected a forgiveness, but she honestly wasn't hoping for it at the moment; she really thought she deserved to be given the cold shoulder by her friends in return. Sarah couldn't help herself and sat next to her, hugging her and rubbing her arms in an attempt to ease her burden a bit.

Leo did nothing but watch. Unlike Aeris, he always paid attention to his friends' reactions; that's how he was able to know how to make each one laugh, and when. Thus, he pretty much anticipated the scene that followed.

"Well… Don't be like dat!" Said Trenaldo, recovering from his surprise with incredible speed. Aeris looked up to his face, surprised to hear him speak first. Like you would expect from a pair of a child and an adult, she had figured it would be Neil that would do the talking. He, however, was still trying to convince his brain that the signals he was sending it were not false and that he hadn't broken his oath to never try catnip.

"The card is just fine… And I shouldn't haz bothered you anywayz… You wasn't feeling well. Don't be sho sad, no problem!" Trenaldo smiled at her as he finished his sentence. Things were very simple for him: he was hurt that Aeris was so mean to him, but he was happy to see how honestly sorry she was. That meant she cared enough to regret it. _Besidez, there's no way she REALLY didn't like de tournamentz…! _

Aeris stared at him with eyes slightly widened for a while, sniffling. She then started crying again, this time loudly; everyone present was by that point shocked by how many tears she could produce. Neil gave up on his attempts on comprehending the situation the next instant, as Aeris darted forward and hugged Trenaldo tightly. Sarah was just as dumbstruck, but she had a wide smile on her face; she could never stay mad at her friend after this.

Leo, on the other hand, seeing his guess come into reality, let out a joyful laughter, entertained by Trenaldo's shocked face.

He had most likely never been hugged by a girl ever before, and the experience was not part of his plan for the day.

**. . .**

Neil had come out of his state of mental shutdown by the time they had left the shop. He still gave Aeris many weary side looks though, as if not entirely sure he had seen her the way he had just a few minutes ago. He had forgiven her as well, after regaining his voice, and she had hugged him too, although not with as much force as she did Trenaldo. The latter looked really happy as they headed for his home, which was the closest one to the cafeteria.

Aeris had calmed down, but still looked depressed over the matter. She was having a hard time forgiving herself. "Don't look like that, Aeris… We said we're cool, didn't we?" Neil attempted to lighten her mood a bit; he himself was surprised by how easy it had been for him to forgive her.

She looked at him and replied without picking up her folded ears or trying to smile. "… You did, but… It was a bit too fast, if you ask me…" Before Neil could answer her, Leo's cheerful laugh sounded from the other side of the line the five of them were forming on the pavement.

After Aeris had apologized, he had been twice as merry as he usually was. Without him, the group would have been impossible to lighten up as they now had -with the exception of Aeris-. His fear for his friendship with her had been replaced with the sheer happiness caused from what he considered her return. _The Return of the Aeris. _He had chuckled to the thought as they were exiting the Starbucks building. Now he was laughing at her grim mood, so much in contradiction with his own; he also felt now was his time to be the supportive kind of friend.

"Well, what did you expect? Trenaldo and Neil have been in the "friend" business for a while now, they know the rules!" He turned around and started walking with his rear, facing the group with his wide smile. "They know that friends _forgive_ each other_._ So get off their back, would ya?" He aimed the last sentence at Aeris, completing it with a chuckle. He started walking normally again, this time next to her. She finally smiled, first at him and then at Neil and Trenaldo, who smiled back at her as if trying to support Leo's argument. That managed to lift her spirits a bit.

They dropped Trenaldo at his house. As they were leaving, Aeris promised they would arrange a "private tournament" one of these days, adding that she still had her cards intact somewhere in her house. Trenaldo was very happy to hear that; he wished them goodnight as he entered his house to "start practicing".

The remaining four went to Aeris' house for a gaming session, taking advantage of the fact that her parents would be absent until late at night. It was a bit awkward, admittedly, but Aeris didn't expect anything different. It would take some time to get back to the way there were before.

_No! Not the way we were before! I'm starting over!_ She corrected herself. At some point though, she got caught up in their game enough to forget her remorse for a bit; she could now enjoy her time with her friends properly. That realization made her very happy.

Neil and Sarah left at around 10, their parents calling to pick them up; they lived a bit far from the neighbourhood. Aeris was about to apologize again, but before she could, the siblings gave her a warm goodnight full of meaning. She smiled at them as she accompanied them to the front door, their father honking from his car. Leo smiled with satisfaction as he saw that, as well as upon noticing the look the two had brought on Aeris' face. He called her back in a loud, friendly tone with a tease, urging her to get back in the game.

She didn't, though. She was now alone with Leo, and she wanted to talk to him. Well, she didn't really _want_ to, be she felt obliged to do so. There was one more thing that was troubling her, a thought that welled from the forgiveness of her friends, and especially his. She remembered how angry he was not three hours ago, when he was shouting at her in the very room they were in at the moment, and him letting all that rage die off didn't sit right with her. She still felt a great amount of guilt, and she still hadn't forgiven herself. And as Leo had told her, a friend should share their troubles with another friend, right?

She sat on her bed, looking grim and eying Leo with meaning; she let him know she wanted to talk with him. "What? Aeris, come on! We're in the middle of a fight here!" Despite saying that, he got up from the floor where he was sitting, there not being another chair in the room, sat on the chair that Aeris was sitting on before she had gotten up to see the siblings off, and moved the chair closer to the bed. He still looked super cheerful.

"Leo…" she started talking, then regretted it and stopped, catching her breath. "What? Aeris, would you _calm down_? Everyone forgave you, it's over now! Get over it!" He obviously faked an annoyed look as he said that. His friendly tone convinced Aeris to speak; she looked down at her feet and then over at Leo's smiling face.

"Leo… Why are you guys friends with me…?"

The question took him by surprise. Aeris had taken a look as if she would cry if she hadn't exhausted that option already. She looked concerned about the answer, as she honestly couldn't find it. She didn't deserve such kindness from everyone, that was for sure. The fact that they were this nice to her made her feel good, of course, and lucky to have such friends, but it still made her uneasy.

"…Huh? What do you mean, "why"?" Leo replied with a light chuckle. "You know _damn well_ what I mean, Leo! I've been behaving like this, so… _so_ bad for _so _long…! And just like that, it's not a big deal anymore?" "We're your friends, Aeris" he said simply. "That's why"

"Yes, but _why_ would you want to be friends with me in the first place?!" She stood up as she posed the question and looked straight into Leo's eyes from a height, all her frustration contained into her's. "What do I have that's so special? What makes _me_ a good friend? I've just had a… I dunno, a teenage… hormone burst, or something… and I'm off being a fucking _bitch_ to you guys! And even before that… Leo, you're my best friend, and I'm always so mean to you! Calling you flea-brain, and all those other things…! And I'm not cutting anyone else any slack either! _Goddamit, _what kind of friend _am _I?! Why do I… deserve such treatment from you all?! I just… I…"

She would definitely had teared up if she hadn't cried all that much during the past few hours. She let out a deep sigh as she sat back on the bed, not looking at Leo's reaction. At the moment, she was afraid of him trying to comfort her, afraid that he would convince her she was wrong.

"...Aeris…" His voice wasn't happy anymore; there it was, the speech to make her feel better. _Again, why?!_

She looked up at him, planning to stop him from comforting her; he shouldn't do it, she didn't deserve it. She stopped before she could mouth a word; she couldn't imagine what that expression was doing on Leo's face at the time. He was smiling, but it was a smile of… _embarrassment?_ Her question took over her for a bit, giving him the time to complete his sentence.

"I… I kinda dig the "flea-brain", actually…" He told her, the embarrassed smile still on his face and a slightly playful tone in his voice.

She was tricked; he was indeed planning on cheering her up. "Leo, no, please don't…" She shook her head, denying his approach; he started laughing and got off his chair, kneeling in front of her.

"Oh, come on, it's very catchy!" "No, Leo, I'm _serious_! _Dammit!_" She looked away in anger upon seeing his face, all happy-looking, with a shine of amusement in his eyes. "Well, so am I! And let me tell you another thing…"

He added the last sentence in a more serious tone as he got off the chair and kneeled in front of his pink friend. He then grabbed both her paws within his own and held them in place. Aeris was taken aback, but she could no longer look away from him. She tried to break free, but he held her tight, so all she could do was frown as he looked her in the eye.

He was feeling his happiness increase as he saw how troubled and remorseful she was. He interpreted her guild as something positive, it being proof of how much she really valued her friends. The vibe she was giving off was a very sad one, but it felt much like the one the 10 year old Aeris he remembered always had around her. It had a kindness to it; one that appealed to him even more now, after spending all these years with her, as he now knew how hard it was for her to show it, it usually being buried beneath her tough attitude. He also understood very well how hard it must have been for her to throw away her pride and that toughness to apologize in such a humid way in public; especially to someone like Trenaldo.

_And she didn't give half a shit about it! _The thought made him feel very proud of his friend.

Him being in that state of mind, it was easy to think of what to say. "You got some things right… You've got the _worst _temper I have _ever_ seen." He emphasized the "worst" part a lot, making her frown change into another guilty grimace. He continued. "You're also very sarcastic most of the time… and you keep nagging me about my schoolwork… and of course, you give the others a hard time as well." She managed to avert her eyes from his and look away_. He's not exactly helping now, is he?_

"But Aeris, have you ever paid attention to the rest of us?" He added in a different tone. "I'm not too easy to hang out with either, I understand that… once I start joking, it can get really lame, and stupid, I know… And Max, constantly set on scoring, and hitting on anything that moves… that's annoying too, isn't it?" He paused, waiting for her to answer. She sheepishly looked back at him before responding. "…Yeah, I guess…" "And _Mia?_" he continued. "She's _the _annoying facebook girl, in flesh!"

She let out a small giggle despite not meaning to. That encouraged him to go on. "See, we all have things about us that are annoying as hell on their own, Aeris!" "Leo, you can't deny that mine are the most serious ones! I'm not being… silly, or the sort… I'm… I…" "You make it difficult for people to be around you." He completed her sentence in a neutral voice. She looked at him with surprise for a second before reluctantly agreeing. "Well… Yes!"

He gave her a faint smile. "Say… would you happen to remember what I told you earlier today? In this very room?" She did; very well so too. She didn't believe she could ever forget it, any of it. She still looked at him in uncertainty, not sure what he was referring to.

After a short pause, he continued. "Did I not say… that I've always considered that the price I had to pay to be your friend?" Her eyes widened slightly, her remembering his words. "And despite what you might think of me, Aeris… I'm not _that_ stupid. I just know, like our friends do, that you really _are_ worth_ all the trouble you can put us through_." He was now smiling widely. "And you've given me the final proof I needed today. Got it now?"

Her sadness slowly washed away, leaving behind a numb feeling as she looked in his green eyes. She felt better about herself; she couldn't not, after having been told all those things. She still didn't quite understand, though. "B-but… why?" She repeated her first question. Leo expected that, and had an answer ready.

"What you did _was_ a mistake, Aeris. It was, because you were being mean, and _that is not you. _You…" he made another short pause as he moved even closer to her, the grey and white of his face filling her visual field. "…are not all that different from that little girl I met on that hallway. Do you remember her…? She was nice, and caring... And despite the attitude she _already_ kind of had, she would never want to hurt anyone, _ever_." Aeris was staring back into his eyes as he talked. "You're not much different from her, Aeris… but you're not the same either. You've hidden her so well not even you can see her now... But guess what?"

"_I_ can. Even if I had my doubts for a second there, they are gone with the wind now! I can see her _crystal clear.._. And she's _every bit_ as kind and caring as she was before!" He made a long pause to let his words sink in.

And they did. Aeris couldn't stop herself from forming a smile; feint and reluctant at first, but gradually growing in width as Leo resumed talking. "Only now, she has a thick layer of _badass _added to the plate! And I'm sure you know better than to dislike that… right?" He gave her the biggest smile he could manage as he finished his sentence.

She kept on smiling for a few seconds, enjoying the nice words he had said to her, as well as the fact that he meant every one of them. She really did believe him now. "I mean, come on" Leo added, this time with a teasing intent. "You'd have to be _at least _that good… you're Leo Leonardo the Third's _best friend_, after all!"

Aeris saw that coming from a mile away. She put all her weight on her chest as she fell on him, hugging him with force and rubbing her forehead against his neck. She had teared up again… but she didn't mind.

Leo hugged her back, laughing and calling her a crybaby. She smiled as her face was lightly pushed against him by one of his paws, her keeping her head lowered for him to embrace her. He still let out small laughs as he did so.

"Leo?" Aeris said after a few minutes, still hugging him tightly. "Hm?" "What if I… what if I just… forget? What if I start acting like this again?" She was honestly terrified by that possibility, and it showed in her tone. Only the privacy the two had acquired at that moment would allow her to verbalize that fear.

"You won't." Leo assured her, certainty in his voice as he quietly spoke back. "You'll be Aeris again, I know it. I guess you'll probably be super sensitive for a while, but then you'll go back to the pain-handing, awesome cat we all love… the real version! I'm sure of it." Aeris smiled from within the hug once more. "Well… just to be on the safe side… Please don't let me do anything like that again, okay? Stop me… You should know how." She lifted her head from his neck and stared into the green his eyes imperatively. "Promise me!" "Fine, fine…I promise." he replied a low voice.

"Oooookay!" said Leo as they released each other a few minutes later; Aeris felt like she could stay in that position all night long. He was her best friend, and that now held an incredibly large meaning to her. "I'm gonna have to take advantage of that sensitivity while I still can! Come on, I'm sure I can whoop your ass in Mortal Combat a couple more times before your parents get back and kick me out!"

Needless to say, mr. and ms. Cole didn't like him; not _one bit_.

Excited and jubilant. _Perfect. _"Dunno… "Pain-handing cat" had a nice ring to it, Leo. Perhaps I'll skip the sensitive part?" She replied with a smirk as she wiped her eyes and went for the controller that was plugged in the computer. "What about "crybaby"? It would seem that one suits you better, after all!" Aeris lifted her shoulders in response to his tease. "Do what you want, flea-brain… But I'm sure you must have learnt where your benefits lie by now, right?"

Leo was surprised she could already pull out a smile as devilish as that. He gave it some thought, in the most theatrical of ways, before focusing on the screen, dropping his ears and taking on an expression of defeat. "Yeah… I have, actually."

He stuck out his tongue as he said that, but as he heard Aeris laugh he turned to her and smiled, his ears picking up. He felt satisfied with himself, being able to lift her spirits this much. _It's usually a punching bag… but if she needs a teddy bear every now and then, I guess that falls within my duties as well._

_Oh well… It's much more pleasant anyways!_

"Thank you, flea-brain" Leo had once again focused on the game when he heard Aeris' voice. He turned and smiled at her once more. She was smiling too, and she looked at him with warmth that was tangible in her eyes. They resumed gaming, but she still gave him some side looks as she passively played on, filled with that same warmth.

He had saved her today. He had saved her from herself, the way only a true friend could… he had saved that little girl from six years ago. And sixteen year old Aeris was saved in the process as well.

He was right… Living up to him would be hard, and she'd have to be _at least_ an awesome friend to do so. But she _would_ be one. She most definitely would. She would make it her goal to catch up to him, to be able to give him as much as he so easily gave her. _Someday, for sure, I'll be able to return the favour, flea-brain… You can bet on it! _

Her smile remained as she finally aimed her attention at the computer screen.

**(Present Time)**

Aeris focused her eyes on Leo once again. He was in the exact same position she had left him in last night, with only his mouth slightly wider agape and his tail no longer moving. Her expression was vacant, betraying nothing of her thoughts. The sun had risen and she could hear the sounds of the waking city all around them, even through the closed window of their hotel room. They would soon have to get up and head for the hospital.

She had remembered what she and Leo referred to as "the Trenaldo incident" that morning. She had dreamt about it, and after waking up she recalled it completely; it made sense, as she had been thinking about it a lot recently, with all that was going on.

She stared at Leo's face, him soundly asleep, and thought back to that time she had decided to be the best friend she could be for him, all while watching him play a video game, right after he had provided her with all the comfort in the world.

"…What do you think? Haven't I… gotten a bit better at this…? Leo…?" She whispered to her sleeping friend. He coincidentally let out a rushed breath in his sleep, as if in response to her question. A smile creased her lips; yeah, she had gotten better at this, alright. And she couldn't be feeling any happier about that.

Perhaps now… she had rightfully earned that crazy, grey-furred airhead she had the luck to call her best friend.

She widened her smile slightly, stretched, and then slowly got out of her bed, deciding it was time to wake him up.

**Bolt letters time!**

**So, this was actually the very first idea for a VGC fanfic I've ever had, which I realized could fit with the rest of the story pretty smoothly. I don't think I was wrong; I'm pretty proud of my "extra chapter"!**

**This also concludes the first of the three parts I've got planned for this story. Which means, you can expect a huge change of pace starting next month. Untill then... Reviews, please!**

**P.S. I really want to thank you guys for the positive feedback you've given this story so far. I'm glad you seem to enjoy VGCL, and I'm hoping you'll like the two other parts as much.**

**Next month it is! **


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